‘Enough Is Enough’: California Subpoenas Exxonmobil Over Plastic Pollution
By Elizabeth Claire Alberts | April 29, 2022 | Mongabay
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has announced that his department will be undertaking a first-of-its-kind investigation to determine the role that the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries have played in the escalating global plastics crisis. The California Department of Justice is narrowing down on one company in particular: ExxonMobil, a corporation that’s previously been pegged as being the greatest polluter of single-use plastics in the world.
“In California and across the globe, we are seeing the catastrophic results of the fossil fuel industry’s decades-long campaign of deception,” Bonta said in a statement on April 28. “Plastic pollution is seeping into our waterways, poisoning our environment, and blighting our landscapes. Enough is enough.”
Bonta said the plastics industry has engaged in an “aggressive campaign to deceive the public” that has sustained “a myth that recycling can solve the plastics crisis.” Data compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows that recycling in the U.S. has never surpassed 9%.
The California DOJ issued a subpoena to ExxonMobil to seek information about whether the corporation has deceived the public about the harmful effects of plastic and the difficulties of recycling plastic products, and if it has violated any laws in doing so.
