Poll: Voters Support Accountability for Plastics Recycling Deception

An overwhelming majority of likely voters agree that the plastics and fossil fuel industries bear the greatest responsibility for the plastic waste crisis and would support legal action to hold them accountable for their role in deceiving the public about the viability of plastic recycling, according to a new nationwide survey from Data for Progress and the Center for Climate Integrity.

The findings, first reported by the Guardian, come as the California Attorney General’s Office is investigating the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry’s role in the plastic pollution crisis and the Federal Trade Commission is considering tightening the rules around recyclability claims in marketing. Earlier this year, the Center for Climate Integrity released a report featuring new evidence of how Big Oil and the plastic industry have deceived the public for decades about the recyclability of plastics.

The survey of 1,231 likely voters across the U.S. found that:

• 70% of likely voters, including 54% of Republicans, would support their state taking legal action against the plastics and fossil industries for their role in plastic pollution and for deceiving the public about the viability of plastic recycling.
• Voters on average guess that just under 45% of plastics in the United States are recycled. In reality, this number is far lower — only about 5% of plastics in the United States are recycled in any given year.
• 85% agree — and 62% strongly agree — that it's deceptive to put the “chasing arrows” symbol on a plastic product that cannot be recycled.
• 54% agree that the actions of the plastics and fossil fuel industries are “yet another example of big companies lying to their consumers.”
• A vast majority of voters think the plastic and fossil fuel industries are responsible for plastic pollution, and voters strongly believe that the plastics (68%) and fossil fuel (59%) industries have a great deal of responsibility to address the plastic waste crisis.

“As we’re watching to see what comes from California’s investigation, it’s clear that the public is very concerned about the plastic waste crisis and would support holding Big Oil and the plastics industry accountable for the fraud of plastic recycling,” said Alyssa Johl, vice president of legal and general counsel at the Center for Climate Integrity. “Any attorney general or public official who is considering action on this issue should know that both the law and public opinion are on their side.”

“Regardless of your politics, no one is really OK with a corporation lying to consumers,” said Davis Allen, an investigative researcher at the Center for Climate Integrity and the lead author of The Fraud of Plastic Recycling. “What jumps out here is the overwhelming agreement among voters that it’s deceptive and wrong for companies to label a product as recyclable when it’s not. The industry has told us that we can do our part by putting all of our plastics in the bin, but they shouldn’t be allowed to keep deceiving the public about where the vast majority of those plastics actually end up: in landfills, incinerated, or in the environment.”

Read a polling memo and the crosstab results here.