USA California sues oil company for "campaign of deception"

California has sued ExxonMobil for a "decades-long campaign of deception" in the recycling of plastic waste. The lawsuit stated that the company had led consumers to believe through "clever marketing" that single-use plastics could be recycled.

The lawsuit, filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday, seeks to order ExxonMobil to pay the cost of cleaning up millions of tons of plastic that pollute land and sea. According to the New York Times, the amount could be "several billion dollars".

"Plastic is everywhere, in the deepest parts of our oceans, on the highest peaks of the earth and even in our bodies," said Bonta. It causes irreversible damage to the environment and health. ExxonMobil had deceived the public for decades "to make us believe that recycling could solve the problem of plastic waste and pollution".

Yet the company "knew full well that this was not possible", said Bonta. ExxonMobil had lied in order to increase its profits at the expense of the planet and probably at the expense of people's health.

The company did not initially respond to the accusations when asked by AFP. The lawsuit filed by the Attorney General's Office was preceded by more than two years of investigations. There are now a number of environmental lawsuits against oil and gas companies in the USA. California is one of the pioneers of the movement.

The global production of plastic has more than doubled in the past 20 years to around 460 million tons per year. Only around nine percent of plastics are recycled. In November, 175 countries plan to launch the final phase of UN negotiations on an international agreement against plastic waste in South Korea.

SDA