The groups accuse Danone — one of the world’s top 10 plastic polluters, according to a recent study — of “failing to live up to its duties” under a groundbreaking French law that requires large companies to address their environmental impact and has opened ways to sue them should they fail to do so.A spokeswoman for Danone said the company “strongly” refutes the accusation, adding that it was taking action to “reduce the use of plastic, develop reuse, reinforce collection and recycling channels, and develop alternative materials.” The lawsuit is likely to put the spotlight on the explosive growth of plastics pollution, which scientists say is affecting air and water quality, global warming, as well as human and animal life.The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which would require plastic producers to finance waste and recycling programs, and ban single-use plastic bags and the exporting of plastic waste to developing countries, is currently in committee.However, environmental organizations have increasingly sued big plastic polluters like Coca-Cola over the past few years using mostly state-level consumer protection laws, alleging that the companies’ use of single-use plastic contradicts advertising statements that they are committed to recycling and the environment.“It’s often about streamlining existing practices,” said Pauline Barraud de Lagerie, a sociologist at University Paris Dauphine who published a book on corporate responsibility."