Center for Climate Integrity report accuses petrochemical industry of “defrauding” consumers

19 Feb 2024 --- The Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) claims in its latest report that “Big Oil” and the plastics industry have created and perpetuated a decades-long campaign of fraud and deception about the recyclability of plastics that has directly fueled the plastic waste crisis.

The research center’s report “The Fraud of Plastic Recycling: How Big Oil and the plastics industry deceived the public for decades and caused the plastic waste crisis” lays out evidence that could provide the foundation for litigation against fossil fuel and other petrochemical companies for their “lies and deception,” according to Beyond Plastics. 

The organization is a project run by Bennington College in Vermont, US. 

The report shows how companies continue to promote recycling as a solution to plastic waste management “despite knowledge that plastic recycling is not technically or economically viable at scale,” it states. 

The researchers name five reasons for plastic recycling failures. First, certain types of plastics have no end markets and, therefore, are “impossible” to recycle. Second, the thousands of different plastics and the variation among them further limit recyclability. Third, the quality of plastic degrades as it is recycled, limiting both the use of recycled plastic and its continued recyclability. 

CCI’s researchers say the thousands of different plastics and their variation limit recyclability.Fourth, plastic’s toxicity and chemical additives limit its recyclability. Finally, the cost of producing recycled plastic is much higher than virgin plastic, so plastic recycling is not economically viable. 

Big Oil’s fault? 
CCI’s report states that by “deceiving” consumers, policymakers and regulators about the viability of plastic recycling, petrochemical companies have ensured the continued expansion of plastic production, leading to a plastic waste and pollution crisis for communities across the US. 

Municipal and state governments largely bear the costs of managing and cleaning up plastic waste — and those costs are projected to increase exponentially in the coming decades, given that plastic waste generation in the US is expected to increase from 73 million metric tons in 2019 to more than 140 million metric tons by 2060, reads the report. 

“If not for the Big Oil and the plastic industry’s lies and deception, municipalities and states would not have invested in plastic recycling programs and facilities — many of which have been shut down due to foreseeable economic losses.” 

“The industry not only misled municipal and state agencies to believe that plastic recycling was a viable solution to plastic waste but also discouraged them from pursuing other, more sustainable waste management strategies, such as waste reduction, reuse, bans and alternative materials, in favor of plastic recycling.”

“Defrauding” the public 
CCI highlights that fossil fuel and other petrochemical companies should now be held accountable for their “deliberate” campaign of deception and the resulting harms, much like tobacco and opioid companies. Companies promote recycling as a solution to waste management despite various challenges, says Beyond Plastics.

CCI’s president, Richard Wiles, comments: “This evidence shows that many of the same fossil fuel companies that knew and lied for decades about how their products cause climate change have also known and lied to the public about plastic recycling. The oil industry’s lies are at the heart of the two most catastrophic pollution crises in human history.”

“When corporations and trade groups know that their products pose grave risks to society and then lie to the public and policymakers about it, they must be held accountable. Accountability means stopping the lying, telling the truth and paying for the damage they’ve caused.” 

Alyssa Johl, CCI’s vice president of legal and general counsel, adds that Big Oil and the plastics industry’s push for recycling has likely violated laws designed to protect consumers and the public from corporate misconduct and pollution. 

“Attorneys general and other officials should carefully consider the evidence that these companies defrauded the public and take appropriate action to hold them accountable,” says Johl. 

Two years ago, California’s attorney general Rob Bonta publicly launched an investigation “into the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries for their role in causing and exacerbating the global plastics pollution crisis.” Bonta’s office announced that it subpoenaed oil giant ExxonMobil, the world’s biggest producer of single-use plastic polymers.

By Natalie Schwertheim