WASHINGTON – Today, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against Exxon Mobile, accusing the fossil fuel company of misleading the public about the environmental impacts of plastic production. In response, Ocean Conservancy’s Director of Plastics Policy Dr. Anja Brandon, an environmental engineer who has helped draft landmark state and national legislation regulating plastic pollution, made the following statement:

“We applaud Attorney General Bonta for holding the fossil fuel industry accountable for driving the plastic pollution crisis. Plastics are made out of fossil fuels, which are simultaneously polluting our ocean and our climate. If we are serious about addressing the plastic pollution crisis, we must reduce how much plastic we make and use in the first place. We also need improvements in real, mechanical recycling to further reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. The fossil fuel industry’s focus on harmful chemical recycling and misleading claims of recyclability are a distraction from the changes needed to protect our ocean and our communities from the impacts of plastic pollution.”

If you would like to set up an interview with Dr. Brandon, please contact Roya Fox at [email protected] or 202.280.6285.

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