ExxonMobil defends advanced plastic recycling initiatives with countersuit against California official

ExxonMobil is suing California Attorney General Rob Bonta and environmental groups, alleging defamation and misrepresentation over its advanced plastic recycling initiatives.

In a complaint filed in Texas' Eastern District Court in Beaumont on Jan. 6, ExxonMobil seeks compensatory damages and a retraction of defamatory statements made by Bonta and environmental groups.

The legal action comes in response to a lawsuit filed by Bonta last September, which accused the company of deceiving the public about the effectiveness of its recycling initiatives. According to Bonta's lawsuit, the petrochemical giant has been misleading the public on the efficacy of its initiatives that do not address the amount of plastic waste ExxonMobil produces.

In the complaint, ExxonMobil criticized California for its "staggering reversal" on recycling efforts as the California Legislature has long enacted bills to encourage and even mandate recycling.

ExxonMobil reiterated its commitment to advanced recycling in its lawsuit.

"It is a proven technology that allows numerous different difficult-to-recycle plastics to be aggregated and converted into raw materials for making valuable new products, such as fuel, lubricants, chemicals and plastic," ExxonMobil said.

ExxonMobil's advanced recycling or chemical recycling technology uses pyrolysis, which breaks down hard-to-recycle plastics into their molecular components using extreme heat. This process yields feedstocks that are chemically identical to virgin plastics and can be reused to create new materials.

In a statement sent to S&P Global Commodity Insights, ExxonMobil said: "This campaign of lies designed to derail our advanced recycling business must stop. We refuse to let others attack our reputation and technology for their financial and political gain. We're investing in proven technology that one day may prevent more than 1 billion pounds of plastic waste from otherwise being burned or buried."

A California Department of Justice spokesperson responded to Commodity Insights with a statement saying: "This is another attempt from ExxonMobil to deflect attention from its own unlawful deception. The Attorney General is proud to advance his lawsuit against ExxonMobil and looks forward to vigorously litigating this case in court."

Skepticism persists among market participants and material recovery facilities regarding the scalability and efficacy of advanced recycling, alleging that many of these advanced recyclers were still in the startup phase and were not buying a substantial amount of waste.

"We've seen a lot of companies with strong financial backing come and go over the years," a recycling market participant said.

The legal dispute comes at a time when demand for recycled plastic resins is driven by corporate sustainability commitments targeting 2025.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed recycled PET food-grade pellets Jan. 9 at 73.5 cents/lb FOB Los Angeles, while recycled HDPE natural pellets were assessed at 127 cents/lb FOB Chicago.