Lawsuit alleges ExxonMobil misled public about plastic recycling

A lawsuit has been filed by the State of California against ExxonMobil, alleging that the corporation has misled consumers for years by promoting a false narrative about plastic recycling.

The State Attorney General’s office claims that ExxonMobil, the world’s leading producer of single-use plastics that often become waste, has deceived Californians for nearly five decades. The lawsuit asserts that the company encouraged people to buy products made with single-use plastics by promising that recycling could effectively address the growing plastic waste crisis, despite knowing this was not feasible.

Plastic recycling remains a challenging process, resulting in only a small fraction of plastic being successfully recycled. Experts warn that promoting recycling as a comprehensive solution to plastic waste can exacerbate the problem, leading to more waste ending up as trash. The State of California now seeks to hold the industry accountable for the plastic pollution present in the environment, wildlife, and human bodies.

According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, ExxonMobil has been misleading the public for decades by suggesting that plastic recycling could resolve the plastic waste and pollution crisis, despite knowing that this was not a viable solution. In 2022, the Attorney General’s office initiated an investigation into the petrochemical industry’s role in creating the plastic pollution crisis, uncovering new documents over the past two years that prompted the current lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that ExxonMobil violated state laws regarding public nuisance, natural resources, water pollution, false advertisement, and unfair competition through deceptive marketing practices related to recycling.

California is seeking civil penalties and disgorgement, which would require ExxonMobil to relinquish any illicit profits. Additionally, the state aims to establish an abatement fund and implement injunctive relief to prevent ExxonMobil from promoting plastics as recyclable. The Attorney General’s office highlighted a 12-page advertisement in Time magazine from 1989 as an example of the company’s misleading campaign. The advertisement emphasized the urgency of recycling, implying a departure from landfilling as the primary method of waste disposal.

By 2015, less than 10 percent of plastic waste had been recycled, with approximately 80 percent of the 6,300 million metric tons of plastic waste produced globally ending up in landfills or polluting the environment. Even recycled plastics are often “downcycled” into lower-quality products rather than being reused for the same purposes, such as plastic bottles being converted into fibers for carpeting. Additionally, products made from recycled plastics typically require reinforcement with new plastic, as it is often more cost-effective for companies to use new materials.

The industry’s claims about “advanced” or chemical recycling are equally flawed, according to the Attorney General, as most of the plastic waste processed this way is converted into fuel. It is also alleged that plastics produced using ExxonMobil’s “advanced recycling” technology contain such minimal quantities of recycled material that they effectively qualify as new plastics.

In response to the lawsuit, ExxonMobil shifted the responsibility to California, stating that state officials were aware of the inefficacy of their recycling system for decades but failed to act. The company suggested that collaborative efforts could have addressed the issue of plastic waste more effectively.

Plastics, due to their lightweight and ease of transport, easily end up in the environment, breaking down into microplastics that contaminate oceans, wildlife, and even human food sources. Since 1985, around 21 million pounds of plastic waste have been collected from California’s beaches and waterways. Moreover, plastics significantly contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 4.5 percent of emissions worldwide—surpassing the pollution from global shipping.

According to Leehi Yona, a climate and environment legal scholar at Cornell University, the fossil fuel industry has consistently downplayed its impact on climate change, employing greenwashing tactics. This latest lawsuit is seen as part of ongoing governmental efforts to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for misleading the public about the environmental risks of their products.

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