"When Philadelphia filed a lawsuit last month alleging two prominent companies were engaged in a “coordinated campaign of deception” regarding the recyclability of their plastic film products, the city joined a growing group of state and local governments hoping litigation can help stem a rising tide of plastic waste.
Public officials in New York, Minnesota, Connecticut, California, Baltimore and Los Angeles have over the last three years lodged complaints against several companies that act as powerful links in the chain of plastic production, including ExxonMobil, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Walmart and Reynolds Consumer Products.
The lawsuits are each distinct, but they all allege the defendants misled the public about the efficacy of recycling in order to continue profiting off the production and sale of plastic. California accused ExxonMobil of encouraging the excessive use of plastic, contributing to the state’s billion-dollar annual cost for plastic waste management. New York, meanwhile, alleged that PepsiCo’s single-use plastics pollute the Buffalo River, contaminating drinking water and harming wildlife."
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