Americans are being peddled misinformation about what happens to the plastic they buy and use in their daily lives, and Maryland taxpayers have an opportunity to fight back. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has sued ExxonMobil for the fossil fuel company’s pollution and track record of misinformation — particularly around the recyclability of Americans’ plastics.

While other governments have brought legal action against consumer brands for their plastic pollution, California’s case is the first to target a major plastic producer for falsely promoting recycling as a solution.

We’ve got tips to make the holiday more sustainable, and maybe more fun, too.

This is a historic moment in the fight against plastic pollution, a crisis that has been created by companies that have known recycling was not possible for most plastics. While others have filed important suits against consumer brand companies for their pollution, like New York attorney general Letitia James’ lawsuit against PepsiCo, Bonta’s suit is the first to target a company for lying about plastic recycling’s efficacy.

Black-colored plastic used in children’s toys, takeout containers, kitchen utensils and grocery meat and produce trays may contain alarming levels of toxic flame retardants that may be leaching from electronic products during recycling, a new study found.

In a landmark lawsuit filed this week, the California attorney general accused ExxonMobil of “deceptively” promoting chemical recycling as a solution for the plastics crisis, citing ProPublica’s recent reporting and expanding on our findings. In June, we examined the oil giant’s claim that it had transformed discarded plastic into new fruit cups through an “advanced” chemical recycling technology called pyrolysis.

The group Beyond Plastics on Wednesday expressed hope that the next U.S. president "is up for the challenge" of reversing course on the annual plastic pollution that is currently projected to nearly double by 2040, and released a 27-point agenda to guide the winner of the November election.

"The next president of the United States should use a combination of approaches to significantly reduce the production, use, transport, and disposal of plastics for the sake of public health and the environment," reads the list of proposed priorities. "These include directives issued to federal agencies and efforts to work with Congress to introduce and pass relevant federal legislation."

Contrary to popular belief, products made of “compostable” plastic won’t degrade in your home compost. Rather, they are products that can decompose in commercial composting facilities, which are rare in the U.S.