Plastic pollution: California opens an investigation into the role of the petrochemical industry
A pile of plastic waste in the Indian Ocean.
Getty Images - Rosemary Calvert
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
California announced Thursday, April 28 the opening of a large-scale investigation intended to establish the responsibilities of the petrochemical industry in plastic pollution, mainly made from hydrocarbons and which threatens health and biodiversity in the whole world.
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"
That's enough.
For more than half a century, the plastics industry has aggressively campaigned to deceive the public, perpetuating the myth that recycling could solve the plastics crisis.
The truth is this: the overwhelming majority of plastic cannot be recycled, and the recycling rate has never exceeded 9%
” in the United States, charged Rob Bonta, attorney general of California.
The rest is buried in landfills, incinerated or released into the environment.
“
Each week, we consume a volume of plastic equivalent to a credit card through the water we drink, the food we eat and the air we breathe
,” says Mr. Bonta.
The investigation launched Thursday will examine "
past and present efforts made by the
petrochemical industry" to deceive the public and determine how "
these actions may have contravened the law
", explain the services of the Attorney General in a press release.
The first act of this unprecedented initiative in the United States, the Californian authorities have assigned the American oil giant ExxonMobil, "
major source of plastic pollution
", to ask it for "
information relating to its role
" on this subject.
"
We reject the allegations made by the attorney general
's office," an ExxonMobil spokeswoman said in a statement to AFP.
"
We share society's concerns and are working with governments, including the State of California, communities and other industries to support projects around the world that improve waste management and recycling
." defends the company.
460 million tons of plastics in 2019
“
In California and around the world, we are seeing the catastrophic consequences of this decades-long campaign of deceit by the fossil fuel industry.
Plastic pollution is seeping into our waterways, poisoning our environment and rotting our landscapes
,” asserts Rob Bonta.
Some 460 million tonnes of plastics were produced in 2019 worldwide, generating 353 million tonnes of waste, of which less than 10% is currently recycled, according to the OECD.
This waste degrades into plastic micro-particles that are found in all the oceans of the globe, in the pack ice, in the stomachs of animals and even in the air taken from the tops of mountains.
According to the OECD, plastic products also represent nearly 3.5% of greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming.
For Jennifer Savage, head of the fight against plastic pollution at the Surfrider Foundation, the investigation launched by California could help "
to establish the responsibility of fossil fuel producers in one of the greatest environmental crises of our time. .
»
"
Most people don't realize how intertwined plastic production is with the hydrocarbon industry
," she told the
Los Angeles Times.
Last month,
the UN kicked off negotiations in Kenya
to come up with a global treaty against plastic pollution.
(AFP)
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