“Peak Greenwashing”: Two Bills in Congress Endorse Misleading Recycling Claims

Illustration by Shoshana Gordon/ProPublica The plastics industry spent decades convincing consumers that throwing used products stamped with the “chasing arrows” symbol into a curbside bin meant they would be recycled. Now, amid growing awareness that many of those items never get reprocessed, the industry is championing a pair of proposals in Congress that would give misleading recycling claims the support of federal law. On the surface, the two bipartisan House bills promise transparency for consumers by establishing national standards for recycling and recycled content labels. But the legislation — promoted by oil, chemical and packaging companies that spend millions of dollars lobbying Congress each year — would forbid states from setting stricter requirements. That would neutralize efforts like California’s “truth in labeling” law, which bans the chasing arrow symbol on plastic products that contain toxic chemicals or that can’t realistically be recycled.