California Attorney General Rob Bonta is going to explore whether or not fossil fuel companies have broken the law by spreading false rumors about the business of plastic recycling, according to recent statements.

This particular investigation has tried to look to the fossil fuel industry and make them claim responsibility for the potential damage that their products cause to the earth. The state of California will overall be investigating whether or not various companies have tricked consumers into believing that recycling always prevents plastic from leaking into landfills. 



This particular accusation is being made against Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM  ). "We are focused on solutions," a spokesperson for Exxon said in a statement to NPR, "and meritless allegations like these distract from the important collaborative work that is underway to enhance waste management and improve circularity."


Exxon Mobil also said that it is the the first company to utilize a type of technology known as "advanced recycling" in order to recycle plastic. Officials have informed NPR that the company has never lied to or misinformed the public, and believe that they are able to find some way to recycle plastics. When asked how they would be able to do so, however, they could not offer a direct answer.



Plastic is very challenging to recycle; most of the time, it will end up as something like fibers in carpeting, since it does not need high-grade plastic. Additionally, it is more expensive to recycle plastic than to discard it in some way. In spite of all these factors, however, plastic has become increasingly popular over the years. On a global level, we make 200 times more plastic in modern times than we did in the 1950s.



The lawsuit regarding Exxon Mobil's alleged misinformation, however, still stands. Officials insist that the investigation intends to pinpoint whether there is still any remaining lies or deception concerning the recycling of plastic.



"We are not prejudging this, but there is information, significant amounts of it, that is compelling and in the public sphere that has led us to a good faith belief that we should be subpoenaing ExxonMobil to get more information," Bonta said in a statement. "There is a broad belief that plastics are recyclable. That has been the result of the misinformation campaign, of the deception, that consumers have been manipulated to believe that plastic is recyclable. It was a strategy as far as we can tell."