SAN FRANCISCO – Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), chair of the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, released the following statement today in response to the Attorney General holding our biggest polluters accountable for their deception.

“As corporations make plastics an important part of their record-breaking profits, the State of California will hold them accountable for illegal practices that purposely deceive the public. This lawsuit lays out how for decades, ExxonMobil has knowingly provided the public and decision-makers with misleading information while being one of the largest contributors on the planet to our plastic pollution crisis. Their actions have done serious damage to our environment and taxpayers.

“False advertisements and claims of easy plastic recyclability have encouraged public consumption of plastics as regular folks reasonably assume that all of these products will be reused or recycled after use. This has led to record amounts of plastic waste polluting our oceans and land, and Californians have been left with the bills to pay for cleanup efforts. I thank the Attorney General for demanding accountability from our courts.”

According to the Attorney General, 12.1 million tons of plastic waste become water pollution every year, and an additional 19.8 million tons become land pollution. This is the equivalent of four garbage trucks dumping plastic into our oceans or onto our land every minute.

Ben Allen represents the 24th State Senate District, which consists of the Westside, Hollywood, coastal South Bay, and Santa Monica Mountains communities of Los Angeles County.