Annie Leonard has a great piece on the history of the "individual accountability" trash movement. TL;DR: it's an accountability avoidance maneuver by the drinks, beverages, and fast-food industries, principally.

http://www.worldwatch.org/system/files/AlterNet-SOW13-AL-102...

(Mostly the same material here: https://www.salon.com/2014/06/18/big_plastics_pr_disaster_wh...)

Her book and project, The Story of Stuff, are highly recommended.

https://storyofstuff.org/about/annie-leonard/