California AG sues ExxonMobil over plastic waste in landmark filing

In a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, California Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing ExxonMobil for the company's alleged role in the global plastics pollution crisis.

The state claims the oil and gas giant engaged in a "decades-long campaign of deception" to lie to consumers about the sustainability of plastic recycling, according to the lawsuit filed Monday in San Francisco County Superior Court.

The suit alleges the company perpetuated the myth that plastics, particularly single-use plastics, are sustainable and recyclable, knowing this was false and that 95% of plastics end up in landfills.

ExxonMobil is the leading producer of synthetic polymers, which are essentially the building blocks of single-use plastics such as bottles, wrappers and bags, according to the lawsuit.

"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 a press release announcing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims ExxonMobil deliberately shifted the responsibility for plastic waste to consumers by promoting the idea that plastic recycling was their individual duty, while the company knew recycling was not a viable solution.

In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for ExxonMobil released a statement to ABC News saying, "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 filing follows a two-year investigation initiated in 2022, during which the attorney general says his office issued multiple subpoenas and obtained extensive materials to build the case.

"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.

"We are focused on solutions and meritless allegations like these distract from the important collaborative work that is underway to enhance waste management and improve circularity," a spokesperson for the company told Reuters in a written response after the AG opened the investigation in 2022.

Bonta claimed in the lawsuit that ExxonMobil promoted "advanced recycling," which is portrayed as an innovative recycling solution but that the program is neither new nor effective.

ExxonMobil's "advanced recycling" process cannot handle large amounts of post-consumer plastic waste such as potato chip bags without risking the safety and performance of its equipment, according to the suit.

The lawsuit claims the recycling program only accounts for "less than one percent of ExxonMobil's total virgin plastic production capacity, which continues to grow."

In the statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for ExxonMobil claimed, "To date, we’ve processed more than 60 million pounds of plastic waste into usable raw materials, keeping it out of landfills."

As of September 2024, Exxon Mobil's market cap was ranked at over $512 billion, making it the 18th most valuable company in the world.

"ExxonMobil lied to further its record-breaking profits at the expense of our planet and possibly jeopardizing our health. Today's lawsuit shows the fullest picture to date of ExxonMobil's decades-long deception, and we are asking the court to hold ExxonMobil fully accountable for its role in actively creating and exacerbating the plastics pollution crisis through its campaign of deception," Bonta said.

The California DOJ is seeking billions in civil damages, for environmental destruction, harm to public health, and to end the company's "deceptive practices."

More than 26 million pounds of trash has been collected from California beaches and waterways since 1985, according to the lawsuit, and approximately 81 percent of it was plastic.

The lawsuit alleges most of the plastic items collected on the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day can be traced to ExxonMobil's polymer resins.