ExxonMobil, California face off in massive suit over plastics recycling

California is going after ExxonMobil Corp. in a both-barrels-blazing lawsuit, attempting to lay the problems with plastics and plastics recycling at the oil giant's feet.

But ExxonMobil Corp. is firing back, saying the state is trying to make a scapegoat out of the company.

ExxonMobil's advice to California and state Attorney General Rob Bonta, who filed the suit Sept. 23, look in the mirror.

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

Bonta's lawsuit is 147 pages, but the company used less than 147 words to respond.

"For decades, California officials have known their recycling system isn't effective. They failed to act, and now they seek to blame others. Instead of suing us, they could have worked with us to fix the problem and keep plastic out of landfills," the company said in a statement.

"The first step would be to acknowledge what their counterparts across the U.S. know: advanced recycling works. To date, we've processed more than 60 million pounds of plastic waste into usable raw materials, keeping it out of landfills. We're bringing real solutions, recycling plastic waste that couldn't be recycled by traditional methods."

The attorney general's office is alleging the plastics sector has spent decades lying to the public.

"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. The alleged lie: Promising recycling would solve the plastic waste problem.

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."

APR did not specifically comment on being mentioned in the lawsuit, but CEO Steve Alexander pushed back at the idea that plastics recycling is a failure.

"Plastic recycling works, and it is a vital part of a comprehensive solution to plastic waste. Recycling and reuse are directly responsible for over 680,000 jobs in the U.S., and thousands more indirectly," he said in a statement.

"For 30 years, APR's recycler members have taken in post-consumer plastic packaging from community recycling programs in California and across the country and processed it so that it can be sold to manufacturers and made into new plastic packaging and products," Alexander said.

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

"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 wants 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 Agency 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. "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.

Bonta launched an investigation into plastics 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.

He was in New York City just a day after filing the suit, addressing a plastics health research conference. Bonta said he "eagerly awaited" more research on the potential impact of chemicals in plastics on people.

"Microplastics have been found in our lungs, maternal and placental tissue, breast milk and blood," Bonta said. "While researchers, including many of you, are still learning about the impact microplastics have on our health, I think it's safe to say we don't want them in our bodies.

"This is actually a very important part of the lawsuit we filed yesterday, so we eagerly await your studies [and] your conclusions," Bonta said, in a short address at the Plastics and Human Health Symposium at New York University's Langone Health Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards.

While microplastics are not a focus of his lawsuit, Bonta's legal action argues they "likely have negative human health consequences."

Bonta told the researchers that plastic pollution costs his state about $1 billion a year in cleanup costs.

"This topic, the tie between our health and plastics, is so critical because as we know plastics are literally everywhere around us," Bonta said. "They are ubiquitous, and unfortunately, it's in the water we drink, the food we eat and the air we breathe."