SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s attorney general on Thursday subpoenaed ExxonMobil as part of what he called a first-of-its-kind broader investigation into the petroleum industry for its alleged role in causing a global plastic pollution crisis.
Attorney General Rob Bonta said the industry for decades has encouraged the development and use of petroleum-based plastic products while seeking to minimize public understanding that their widespread use harms the environment and public health.
“Every week, we consume the equivalent of a credit cards 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.
Bonta will consider whether petrochemical companies violated the law with what he called their “historic and ongoing efforts to deceive the public.” Bonta said ExxonMobil was subpoenaed as a major source of global plastics pollution and for its alleged prominent role in public deception regarding plastics.
ExxonMobil and the Western Plastics Association did not immediately comment, and the Western States Petroleum Association declined comment.
But the American Chemistry Council representing plastics makers issued a statement saying that U.S. “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 U.S. by 2030 to include at least 30% recycled plastic; making producers responsible for packaging to help increase recycling; and supporting a legally binding global agreement to confront the problem.
But Bonta said the industry appears to have engaged in “greenwashing” for decades by leading consumers to believe that plastics were environmentally friendly — largely because they can be recycled.
That marketing effort made “people…
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