Photo: Surfrider Foundation
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with the Surfrider Foundation, Heal the Bay, Sierra Club, and San Francisco Baykeeper, have filed suit against ExxonMobil alleging the multinational oil and gas corporation “covered up the truth about the dangers of the single-use plastics it produces, and that Exxon knowingly caused the public to believe that single-use plastics can be safely disposed of, despite knowing otherwise.”
The lawsuit claims that Exxon spent millions over the course of several years to execute a PR campaign that misled the public about the effectiveness of its plastic recycling methods. According to the La Times, the company propped up a process they termed “advanced recycling” as a method that could effectively battle pollution caused by single-use plastics.
In 2021, Exxon Mobil’s president of product solutions, Karen McKee, promoted the process by saying, “Imagine your discarded yogurt containers being transformed into medical equipment for your next doctor’s appointment, and then into the dashboard of your next fuel-efficient car.”
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, however, paints a picture of “advanced recycling” being little more than a PR stunt. Bonta points out that Exxon has just one facility where “advanced recycling” takes place and just eight percent of plastic is repurposed into a new material while the other 92 percent is processed for fuel and later burned.
“The complaint alleges that Exxon has brainwashed everyone into thinking that plastic recycling works and that it’s good for the planet. But when we pulled back the curtain, we found that Exxon’s plastic polymers are poisoning waterways, wildlife, and people,” said Sejal Choksi-Chugh, executive director of San Francisco Baykeeper. “San Francisco Bay has some of the highest levels of microplastics in the world. That’s why we’re going after Exxon: to stop plastic pollution at the source. This stuff is killing us a little bit more every day, and we won’t let Exxon gaslight us into believing this is normal. People and wildlife around the Bay deserve to live free from exposure to toxic petrochemicals and microplastics.”
Bonta also claims that Exxon has held the patent for their “advanced recycling” method since 1978 but they’ve been knowingly rebranding it as new. The company reportedly tested the technology in the 1990s without putting it into practice. They later learned the term “advanced recycling” resonated with the public and the technology resurfaced.
“Some of the greatest progress in American history was caused by civil lawsuits holding the powerful accountable for their actions,” said Niall McCarthy, partner at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy. “This is another such case brought by the most prominent environmental nonprofits in California who are willing, for the public good, to take on a company worth billions. The case will expose the devastation caused by single-use plastics and the deceptive recycling myth pushed by plastic producers such as ExxonMobil. The case, at its core, is about accountability. ExxonMobil’s promises of being a good corporate citizen are divorced from the reality of its conduct. As detailed in the complaint, ExxonMobil’s single use plastics are smothering California’s environment.”
