Really important article here about how big oil companies, including ExxonMobil, knew plastic recycling was BS since the'70s, but kept pushing the lie anyway.
"New research by the Center for Climate Integrity reveals that the plastics industry knew this plastic waste crisis was coming. And so petrochemical manufacturers worked hard to persuade the public that we could recycle our way out of the problem."
This is in addition to them knowing about the dangers of carbon emissions since the 1970s, and deliberately delaying action: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/exxon-knew-about-climate-change-almost-40-years-ago/
(Worth noting the plastic used in the synthetic rubber in tyres is a major source of plastic pollution: https://aus.social/@ajsadauskas/112009009421402914)
"Twenty petrochemical companies generate more than half of all the world’s single-use plastics. They include major oil and gas companies such as ExxonMobil, the world’s leading producer of single-use plastic waste.
...
"Behind the scenes, however, they were admitting all along that such efforts were “virtually hopeless.” For more than 40 years, they knew that plastic recycling is not technically or economically feasible at scale. More than 90 percent of all plastic has ended up in landfills, ecosystems, or incinerators.
...
"Since the 1970s, these companies, their trade associations, and their front groups promoted recycling “solutions” using misleading advertising, inaccurate educational materials, performative investments, and commitments that they knew they were unlikely to meet.
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"Internal documents reveal that the industry knew by 1986, for example, that “recycling cannot be considered a permanent solid waste solution [to plastics], as it merely prolongs the time until an item is disposed of.” In 1994, an Exxon employee warned staffers at the American Plastics Council that they did not “want paper floating around” saying they could not meet recycling goals, since the issue was “highly sensitive politically.” These compelling admissions and many more are grounds for a thorough investigation.
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"Plastics are a product made from fossil fuels. As the world moves away from fossil fuels in a race to avert climate catastrophe, journalists have shined a light on how oil companies promote recycling, in part because plastics are their 'Plan B.'"
These days, the CEO of ExxonMobil likes to gaslight the public and blame activists:
"Frankly, society, and the activist—the dominant voice in this discussion—has tried to exclude the industry that has the most capacity and the highest potential for helping with some of the technologies."
https://aus.social/@ajsadauskas/112009009421402914
Well, these same companies knew about the problems with toxic fossil fuel pollution since the 1970s. That's both greenhouse gas and microplastic pollution.
And they deliberately and knowingly lied to delay action.
@green #environment #plastic #pollution #ClimateChange #waste #CarbonEmissions
@skribe @ajsadauskas @green
The Victorian Govt has its SEO game on. Holy shit.
What do you mean here exactly? I’m curious now.
@Deceptichum I search for thermal recycling, which is the bullshit term invented by industry to mean burning stuff, and instead of Wikipedia or some other neutral site being returned to explain the term it returns the Victorian Govt website promoting it. The govt has SEOd their way to the top of the search results. The term has the word recycling in it, but really it’s just burning shit. You don’t make new plastic. A stupid misleading term. SEO means gaming the search engine to get top result.
Ah thanks.
I just checked it out and got Wikipedia first, vic.gov was halfway down for me.