California takes on Big Plastic over recycling myths

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Attorney General Rob Bonta said yesterday that California will investigate whether fossil fuel companies have broken the law.

The fossil fuel industry has been accused of downplaying the harm their products cause on the planet. California will be looking into whether companies have misled consumers into thinking that recycling keeps plastic out of landfills and ecosystems, and whether they have broken any laws in the process.

The majority of plastic never gets recycled.

Bonta said in a press release that the plastics industry has been deceiving the public for more than 50 years.

Plastic is more difficult to recycle than other materials. That's one reason why it's not likely that your plastic bottle will become another bottle. If it is recycled, it is more likely to end up in carpeting, which does not require high-grade plastic. It costs more to recycle plastic than it does to burn it or make new plastic.

According to a 2020 investigation by NPR and PBS Frontline, plastic makers knew about the problems with their products decades ago, but promoted recycling as a viable solution to plastic waste anyway.

Over the past several decades, plastic's popularity has skyrocketed. The world produces more plastic today than it did in the past. California's investigation will look into the role that companies play in promoting myths around recycling and the extent to which this deception is still ongoing.

One of the world's biggest plastic producers was subpoenaed by the state. In an email to The Verge, ExxonMobil operations media manager Julie King called Bonta's statementsmeritless allegations that distract from the important collaborative work that is underway to enhance waste management.

Despite decades of failure with plastic recycling, many companies are still trying to sell consumers on products that they say are more sustainable because they use recycled orcyclable plastic.

Microsoft collaborated with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, an oil company, on the release of the Ocean Plastic Mouse. The shell of the mouse is made of recycled plastic. If the company sells 20 percent more products, the benefits of using that much recycled material will be lost. Since virgin plastic is usually reinforced with recycled plastic, a hot market for recycled plastic might keep the market for new plastic strong. Recycling can't make our plastic addiction sustainable.

California could hold ExxonMobil accountable if they knew early on that fossil fuels would cause a climate crisis and used that misinformation to lure customers. The lawsuits are still going through the court.

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