Challenging Big Oil’s big lie about plastic recycling

Challenging Big Oil’s big lie about plastic recycling

Written by Judith Enck

Among the plastics in your home, you might have a hard orange laundry detergent bottle or a clear squeezable ketchup bottle. When recycling day comes, you might put it in a blue bin or bag and put it on the curb, hoping it will turn into something new.

But here’s the problem. These two plastic bottles cannot be recycled together because they are different colors, different types of plastic, and contain different chemicals. Unlike old aluminum cans that can be recycled into new aluminum cans, plastics are not fundamentally designed to be recycled.

However, the idea that plastic can be recycled in the same way as aluminum is widely misunderstood. dig It has been engraved in our brains for nearly half a century. This long-running fraud allowed these industries to make billions of dollars with zero accountability until California Attorney General Rob Bonta took office. announced that California sued ExxonMobil About environmental destruction and the lie of recycling.

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This is a historic moment in the fight against plastic pollution and the crisis caused by plastic pollution. company We knew that most plastics couldn’t be recycled. Some companies have filed significant lawsuits against consumer brand companies for pollution, such as those filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James. pepsicoBonta’s lawsuit is the first to target a company that lied about the effectiveness of plastic recycling.

exxon, one of the biggest It was clear that oil and gas companies around the world were the ones to watch. Americans typically associate Exxon with gas stations, but Exxon also makes polymers (chains of repeating chemical parts) that are used to package plastic bottles, cups, tableware, takeout containers, and other U.S. consumer goods. I’m doing it. We think of the production of plastic parts as “.”core” are part of the company’s business, and Bonta’s lawsuit says the company believes 80 percent of its growth potential “relies on single-use plastic applications.”

Think about it. While you’re wondering what to put in your recycling bin, companies like Exxon are on a mission to find new ways to get unwanted plastic out into the world.

The composition of most plastics makes them inherently non-recyclable materials. Over 16,000 chemicals is used Different combinations of these additives are used to produce different types of plastics, giving them material properties such as color and flexibility. The small amount of plastic that is actually recyclable (primarily No.1 and No.2, PET and HDPE) is delivered to a facility where the plastic is shredded and crushed. Unlike paper, which can be turned into new paper products many times over, recycled plastic typically becomes plastic wood or clothing, which can no longer be recycled and does not biodegrade.

Therefore, the proportion of plastic is less than 6%. recycled Explaining why it is deceptive that Exxon and others have spent millions of dollars for decades on public relations campaigns that falsely promoted that plastic recycling could manage all the mess.

According to California’s attorney general, this is illegal. Bonta’s lawsuit broadly outlines the company’s deceptions, including an Exxon employee in 1994 who said, “We are committed to the activities, but not the results,” when discussing a plastic recycling project. It also includes the statement.

This method of distraction was intended to shift responsibility and responsibility for plastic pollution from companies to consumers, while allowing companies to dramatically increase the amount of plastic they produce. And it worked. Today, there is no place on earth that is not affected by plastic. Found in arctic sea ice, deepest part of the ocean, the furthest part mountainin many of us foodand our body. Plastic does not biodegrade. that break up into smaller pieces. this strangling a wild animal, enters air we breathe and find our way into it water we drink This toxic substance is often used for only a moment, but ultimately pollutes the environment for centuries.

Exxon and others are now reusing the same distracting technology to promote what they call “advanced recycling.” The process uses high heat to turn plastics into small amounts of fuel and often uses toxic chemicals to create new plastics. Like mechanical recycling, this too has been unsuccessful for decades.

Currently, there are only nine chemical recycling facilities in the United States, and even if they were operating at full capacity (which they are not), fewer handles Less than 1.2 percent of US plastic waste. These facilities create a new world of environmental problems such as toxic pollution and air pollution, and continue the fabrication of plastic recycling. Most of these facilities are located in low-income communities and communities of color.

The Bonta lawsuit holds Exxon accountable for misinformation about advanced recycling in addition to conventional recycling, another unprecedented and laudable move. “ExxonMobil knew that mechanical recycling, and now ‘advanced recycling,’ could only process a fraction of the waste it produced,” the complaint says.

The lawsuit follows suit filed by state attorneys general against tobacco companies in the 1980s. This lawsuit has two goals similar to successful tobacco litigation. It is about deterring deception and dealing with damages. If California wins this case, ExxonMobil and the trade associations it funds will have to stop lying about plastic recycling. In addition, Exxon must put millions of dollars into an abatement fund to help California combat the plastic pollution epidemic.

Companies like Exxon have long used power and capital to avoid the disastrous consequences of their own greed. We need leaders like Attorney General Bonta to change that.

This legal action sets a precedent for other state attorneys general to follow. As a lawsuit accumulate When it comes to big oil’s climate responsibility, smart companies can reduce legal risks by telling the truth about plastics and plastic recycling. It’s not only the right thing to do; It is also required by law.

This is an opinion and analysis article and the views expressed by the author are not necessarily those of the author. scientific american.