California opens investigation into ‘decades-long plastics deception campaign’
California’s attorney general has announced an unprecedented investigation into the fossil fuel industry — not for its knowledge about climate change, but for its role in causing the global plastics pollution crisis.
In a press release on Thursday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta accused fossil fuel and petrochemical companies of disingenuously promoting recycling, even though they knew it would never be able to keep up with growing plastic production. “Enough is enough,” Bonta said in a statement. “For more than a century, the plastics industry has engaged in an aggressive campaign to deceive the public, perpetuating a myth that recycling can solve the plastics crisis.”
As part of the investigation, the attorney general’s office has issued a subpoena to Exxon Mobil for information relating to its alleged role in a “decades-long plastics deception campaign,” and seeks to determine if …