Why California is suing ExxonMobil for ‘perpetuating the lie’ of plastic recycling

By Justine Calma , a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hell or High Water: When Disaster Hits Home, a podcast from Vox Media and Audible Originals.

The Golden State filed suit against the oil giant this week, alleging that it has misled consumers for years by marketing recycling as a way to prevent plastic pollution. Plastic is difficult and relatively costly to recycle, and very little of it ever gets rehashed, but the industry sold recycling as a feasible solution anyway.

That’s why California wants to hold ExxonMobil accountable for the role it says the company played in filling landfills and waterways with plastic. Plastics are made with fossil fuels, and California says ExxonMobil is the biggest producer of single-use plastic polymers.

ExxonMobil defended itself in an emailed response to The Verge, writing: “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.”

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