I have been recycling for many years ever since my city started their program but in recent years many articles have made me think that I may be wasting my efforts….I wrote about it once before….
Recycle Or Not
California is suing Exxon for deceiving the public for decades….
California has just filed a blockbuster lawsuit against ExxonMobil, alleging that the industry giant has been lying for years about how easy it is to recycle plastic, reports the Guardian.
- “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,” said state attorney general Rob Bonta. The suit is the culmination of a two-year state investigation.
- The company is one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of substances used to make plastics, and the state blames it for “creating an environmental blight that has cost the state billions of dollars to clean,” per the Los Angeles Times. The suit seeks unspecified damages
- The lawsuit asserts that the company has falsely promoted the claim that virtually all plastic is recyclable, even though the figure is estimated to be 5% or 6% in the US, per the Washington Post. Americans have continued buying plastic products deluded by this belief, asserts the suit, which specifically cites the “chasing arrows” logo on plastic products as being misleading to consumers.
- In an interview with the New York Times, Bonta said the company’s “myth of recycling” had fueled the world’s plastic pollution. A consortium of environmental groups including the Sierra Club filed a similar lawsuit against ExxonMobil on Monday as well. The company had not responded publicly as of early Monday afternoon.
If you would like a more detailed analysis…..
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday sued oil giant ExxonMobil for allegedly deceiving the public about the recyclability of plastics so as to continue increasing production.
The 147-page lawsuit, filed in San Francisco County Superior Court, came following a yearslong investigation that environmental groups were hoping would lead to legal action. They widely celebrated Bonta’s move.
“This is the single most consequential lawsuit filed against the plastics industry for its persistent and continued lying about plastics recycling,” Judith Enck, founder of the advocacy group Beyond Plastics and a former senior Environmental Protection Agency official, said in a statement.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/california-sues-exxonmobil-plastics
What has happened to the processes that I have written about top neutralize plastic waste?
Answers are needed…..and soon.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”