California sues ExxonMobil over plastics, recycling

California is suing ExxonMobil Corp., alleging the company has misled the public about plastics recycling for decades.

State Attorney General Rob Bonta claims the company has "engaged in a decades-long campaign of deception that caused and exacerbated the global plastics pollution crisis," the state said in announcing the Sept. 23 legal action.

The 147-page lawsuit pulls no punches, coming out of the gate swinging at plastics and plastics recycling.

"The plastics industry, through its deceptive public messaging regarding plastic recycling, is responsible for one of the most devastating global environmental crises of our time: the plastic waste and pollution crisis," the lawsuit states.

California alleges ExxonMobil is the largest producer of plastic that becomes plastic waste in the state and has deceived state residents for "almost a half a century by promising that recycling could and would solve the ever-growing plastic waste crisis.

"All the while, ExxonMobil has known that mechanical recycling, and now 'advanced recycling,' will never be able to process more than a tiny fraction of the plastic waste it produces," the lawsuit alleges.

While only ExxonMobil is specifically named in the lawsuit at this point, the attorney general left a placeholder in the lawsuit, also naming unknown defendants who also allegedly violated the law. Those unnamed defendants will be added to the complaint once they are discovered, the lawsuit states.

California also name checks well-known groups associated with the plastics industry and plastics recycling, indicating ExxonMobil has ties to these groups over the years.

"For decades, ExxonMobil has used and funded numerous industry groups as a mechanism to widely spread deceptive messages about the environmental benefits and recyclability of plastic, including within California," the lawsuit states.

These groups are not named as defendants in the suit, but instead listed as "industry groups." They include the American Chemistry Council, the Plastics Industry Association, the Vinyl Institute, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, the Recycling Partnership, the Association of Plastic Recyclers and America's Plastics Makers, which is described in the lawsuit as "an industry group that essentially consists of the ACC's Plastics Division."

Bonta's lawsuit attempts a brutal takedown of plastics and plastics recycling. Now the state has to prove the allegations in Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Francisco, where the lawsuit was filed.

"Plastics are everywhere, from the deepest parts of our oceans, the highest peaks on earth, and even in our bodies, causing irreversible damage — in ways known and unknown — to our environment and potentially our health," Bonta said in announcing the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, a coalition of environmental groups also filed suit against ExxonMobil in San Francisco County Superior Court, alleging the company violated California law regarding nuisances and unfair competition while also concealing "the harms caused by single-use plastics."

"As alleged in the complaint, Exxon profited by claiming plastics are safe and recyclable. But we know better now — our environment and health were being sacrificed just to protect Exxon's bottom line," said Allison Chin, board president at the Sierra Club.

Other groups involved in this lawsuit include the Surfrider Foundation, Heal the Bay and San Francisco Baykeeper.

Bonta wants the court to order ExxonMobil to create and fund an abatement program and order the company to stop all allegedly deceptive statements regarding plastics operations. This includes "referring to its operations and products by the terms 'advanced recycling,' 'chemical recycling,' 'circular,' 'certified circular polymers,' and 'recyclable,'" the lawsuit states.

The attorney general also seeks the company to protect against and prevent further pollution, impairment and destruction of natural resources. The lawsuit further seeks a litany of civil penalties.

Judith Enck is a former regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection who now is president of Beyond Plastics, a group that aims to end plastic pollution.

"This is the single most consequential lawsuit filed against the plastics industry for its persistent and continued lying about plastics recycling," Enck said in a statement about Bonta's lawsuit.

"The plastics industry has known for decades that — unlike paper and glass and metal — plastics are not designed to be recycled and therefore do not achieve a high recycling rate." Beyond Plastics is not part of the legal action.

In a statement, Bonta said: "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.

"ExxonMobil lied to further its record-breaking profits at the expense of our planet and possibly jeopardizing our health," Bonta alleged.

Bonta launched the investigation in 2022 and has been battling with ACC and the Plastics Industry Association in recent days to enforce subpoenas that are part of his probe.