California sues oil giant Exxon over plastic recycling 'myth'

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00:00One of the world's largest producers is being sued for lying about the effects of single-use plastic.

00:06California says the oil giant ExxonMobil made false claims about plastic being recyclable as a cover for producing evermore.

00:15Our 147-page complaint makes it clear that ExxonMobil promoted and vastly increased its production of single-use plastic,

00:26while doling out false promises that its plastics are sustainable and recyclable,

00:33and false promises that recycling would take care of ensuing plastic waste and help ExxonMobil use less fossil fuel to make new plastic.

00:41ExxonMobil used slick marketing campaigns to vaunt its recycling efforts, but according to the state of California, it was all an illusion,

00:49and the company knew it resulted in microplastics polluting waterways and beaches.

00:55Since the 70s, ExxonMobil has known the truth about plastic pollution and recycling,

01:00and still publicly promotes the myth that plastic recycling is the answer.

01:06ExxonMobil knows that the vast majority of plastic products are not and likely cannot be recycled.

01:14The lawsuit is likely to be another blow to the reputation of ExxonMobil,

01:18whose name has long been synonymous with one of the United States' worst environmental disasters.

01:23When a company tanker, the Exxon Valdez, ran aground in Alaska in 1989,

01:28releasing 10 million gallons of crude oil into Prince Edward Sound.

01:33The company also stands accused by scientists of being aware of the links between fossil fuel use and global warming since the 1970s,

01:41and of deliberately downplaying it in communications.

01:44The case also heightens the acute failure of recycling programs to reduce plastic waste.

01:50According to the United Nations, only 9% of plastic worldwide is recycled,

01:55with 79% of it ending up in landfill or in the wild.

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