(AmericanProsperity.com) – ExxonMobil is being sued by California’s Attorney General, stating that the company had a “campaign of deception” that misled consumers for decades about plastic recycling. The lawsuit was filed with the Superior Court of California in San Francisco; it states that ExxonMobil promoted recycling as a “cure-all for plastic waste.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said, “ExxonMobil knew that ninety-five percent of the plastic in the blue bin was going to be incinerated, go into the environment, or go into a landfill. They knew and they lied.”
In a statement regarding the lawsuit, ExxonMobil said that “Advanced recycling” is effective and that the company was able to keep more than sixty million pounds of plastic waste out of landfills using this method. Advanced recycling is referred to as heat-based or chemical recycling which would break down the plastic into its chemical components for potential reuse.
“For decades, California officials have known their recycling system isn’t effective,” ExxonMobil said. “They failed to act, and now they seek to blame others. Instead of suing us, they could have worked with us to fix the problem,” they continued.
The lawsuit is part of a larger motion to hold fossil fuel companies responsible for their part in pollution and their marketing practices. This lawsuit in particular will put the lifecycle of plastics and the potential harm of microplastics front and center.
The State of California is seeking a jury trial to impose civil penalties and to have the company hand over some of their profits. “We want them to put billions of dollars into an abatement fund,” Bonta said.
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