Latest update April 8th, 2025 7:13 AM
Exxon subpoenaed by California AG for role in global plastic pollution crisis
Kaieteur News – On Thursday, April 28, 2022, California’s attorney general subpoenaed American oil giant, ExxonMobil Corporation as part of what he described as a ‘first of its kind broader investigation’ into the petroleum industry for its alleged role in causing a global plastic pollution crisis.
California Attorney General, Rob Bonta
According to a Guardian report, attorney general Rob Bonta, stated on Thursday that the petroleum industry for decades has encouraged the development and use of petroleum-based plastic products while seeking to minimise public understanding that their widespread use harm the environment and public health.
“Every week, we consume the equivalent of a credit card’s worth of plastic through the water we drink, the food we eat, and the air we breathe,” he said, citing a 2019 study for the World Wide Fund for Nature environmental group.
It was reported that Bonta will consider whether petrochemical companies violated the law with their “historic and ongoing efforts to deceive the public”. The attorney general also said ExxonMobil was subpoenaed as a significant source of global plastics pollution and for its alleged prominent role in public deception regarding plastics.
However, Exxon said in a statement that it is “focused on solutions and meritless allegations like these distract from the important collaborative work that is under way” with governments worldwide, including California.
ExxonMobil CEO, Darren Woods
The company said it is the first to have “commercial-scale advanced recycling technology” at a large facility to convert used plastic into material that can be used to make new plastic.
According to the Guardian article, the American Chemistry Council representing plastic makers issued a statement saying that US “plastic makers are committed to a more sustainable future and have proposed comprehensive and bold actions at the state, federal, and international levels”.
Initiatives the industry group said it supports include requiring all plastic packaging in the US by 2030 to include at least 30 percent recycled plastic, making producers responsible for packaging to help increase recycling, and supporting a legally binding global agreement to confront the problem.
However, Bonta said the industry appears to have engaged in “greenwashing” for decades by leading consumers to believe that plastics were environmentally friendly and can easily be recycled.
That marketing effort made “people comfortable to consume more and purchase more plastic,” he said. “And that is really the heart of the deception that we’re going to investigate.”
Companies may have violated laws barring unfair competition, deceptive business practices, or making “greenwashing” illegal, Bonta said.
A civil lawsuit could seek fines or damages, but Bonta said his main goal is a legal order or a settlement requiring companies to clean up plastic waste, make plastics manufacturing changes and promote “non-deceptive ways of talking about plastics”.
“We’re really looking at the underlying issue of non-recyclability, essentially, of plastics, and that is a major problem,” Bonta said. “And we’re investigating whether that was fuelled by a decades-old campaign of deception.”
There is no timeline for the completion of the investigation, but Bonta said it is proceeding “with a level of urgency”.
The Guardian further reported that, Bonta’s move comes amid growing awareness of the pervasiveness of discarded plastics and the role of “microplastic” waste in the food chain.
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