Poll: Most U.S. Voters Support Holding Plastics Industry Responsible for False Recycling Claims

A majority of voters in America — including more than half of Republicans — support holding the plastics and fossil fuel industries accountable for allegedly deceiving the public about the feasibility of recycling, according to a new poll by Data for Progress and the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI).

Over the past decade, dozens of lawsuits have been filed against consumer plastics brands, and the fossil fuel and plastics industries have been increasingly scrutinized for contributing to the plastic pollution crisis around the world, reported The Guardian.

The results of the poll demonstrate that “regardless of your politics, no one is really OK with a corporation lying to consumers,” said leader of the report Davis Allen, an investigative researcher at CCI.

A CCI report from earlier this year found that the plastics industry has known for decades that extensive recycling of its products was unrealistic, but continued to mislead the public.

Likewise, fossil fuel companies were aware that oil and gas were responsible for climate change and that plastics — made from petroleum — would never be recycled at scale, CCI said.

“The companies lied,” said Richard Wiles, president of CCI, as The Guardian reported in February. “It’s time to hold them accountable for the damage they’ve caused.”

The new CCI poll of 1,231 likely voters in the United States shows that 70 percent would support legal action by officials and advocates about the alleged disinformation campaign, reported The Guardian.

The survey — conducted from August 15 to 17 — asked participants to gauge how worried they were about plastic pollution in waterways, with 63 percent responding that they were “very concerned.” Of these, 53 percent were Republicans, 60 percent were independents and 73 percent were Democrats.

Most of those taking the poll also showed some concern about plastic waste in their communities and landfills and microplastics ending up in their bodies.

Participants were told that some officials have called for legal action to be taken against the industries — based upon evidence of deception — for contributing to global plastic pollution. Republicans, independents and Democrats alike said they were in support of those efforts, with 54 percent of Republicans in favor, joined by 66 percent of independents and 88 percent of Democrats.

A majority — 62 percent — also agreed that placing the industry’s “chasing arrows” recycling symbol on a plastic product that is not recyclable is deceptive. Half of voters strongly agreed that the symbol would also be deceptive if it appeared on technically recyclable plastic products that could not usually be recycled in practice.

Nearly 70 percent of participants said they felt strongly that the plastics industry should be held accountable for the worldwide plastic waste crisis, with 59 percent responding that the fossil fuel industry should as well.

According to a report by Greenpeace, only five percent of U.S. household plastic waste was recycled in 2021.

Respondents to the poll estimated the percentage of the country’s plastic waste that gets recycled to be nearly 45 percent.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta launched an investigation of petrochemical and fossil fuel producers in 2022 “for their role in causing and exacerbating the global plastics pollution crisis,” The Guardian reported.

“California’s investigation is the first to focus on not only the fossil fuel and petrochemical companies that produce plastic, but also their deceptive and fraudulent conduct in promoting recycling as a false solution to the plastic waste crisis,” said Alyssa Johl, general counsel and vice president of CCI. “If that investigation results in a lawsuit, it would be the first of its kind, and our findings show the public would support it.”