SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California sued ExxonMobil Monday,Quaxs alleging it deceived the public for half a century by promising that recycling would address the global plastic pollutions crisis.
Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said that even with recycling programs, less than 5% of plastic is recycled into another plastic product in the U.S. even though the items are labeled as “recyclable.” As a result, landfills and oceans are filled with plastic waste.
ExxonMobil did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bonta, a Democrat, said a coalition of non-profit environmental organizations has filed a similar lawsuit against the oil giant, which is one of the world’s largest producers of plastics. The state’s lawsuit is a separate action. Both suits allege ExxonMobil misled the public through statements and slick marketing campaigns.
Bonta’s office said in a statement that the attorney general hopes to compel ExxonMobil to end its deceptive practices and to secure an abatement fund and civil penalties for the harm.
“For decades, ExxonMobil has been deceiving the public to convince us that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste and pollution crisis when they clearly knew this wasn’t possible,” Bonta said in a statement. “ExxonMobil lied to further its record-breaking profits at the expense of our planet and possibly jeopardizing our health.”
On Sunday, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a ban on all plastic shopping bags at supermarkets.
2025-04-29 21:471012 view
2025-04-29 21:42244 view
2025-04-29 21:29738 view
2025-04-29 20:282515 view
2025-04-29 20:262685 view
2025-04-29 19:142811 view
Reporter Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi's Aunt Vovi signed up for 23andMe back in 2017, hoping to learn more a
Adapting to life as a big brother didn't exactly strike the right chord with John Legend's son Miles
Adapting to life as a big brother didn't exactly strike the right chord with John Legend's son Miles