IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen (German industrial association for plastic packaging) and its French partner association ELIPSO welcome the “Alliance to End Plastic Waste“ as important step in fighting marine litter. With the ambitious target to stop plastic waste being released into the environment and investments provided especially for Asia and Africa the committing global companies want to tackle the root of the problem and are ready to take over a leading role.

The Forum for EPS Recycling, EPSY, organised within the IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen e.V. (German Association for Plastics Packaging and Films), and the airpop expert group wish to set the record straight: airpop can be recycled and is being recycled successfully. The recycling rate for airpop packages is around 50 per cent in Germany (Conversio study) – an exemplary result compared with the rest of Europe, and one that is being successively extended.

• 1 million tonnes of recycling material for plastic packaging
  
• At least 90 % of household packaging is capable of being recycled or reused
  
• Sustainability report published with current status and targets

Handling resources in an efficient and responsible manner has long played an important role in the German plastics packaging industry – in ecological as well as in economic terms. While the arguments for plastics packaging are convincing with regard to functionality and efficient use of resources, the German plastics packaging industry, under the umbrella of the IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen (German Association for Plastics Packaging and Films), has now set itself ambitious but also realistic targets to strengthen closed loop recycling.

The ceremony for the 4th edition of «PackTheFuture – The Sustainable Plastic Packaging Award», managed by ELIPSO & IK, the trade organisations representing plastic & flexible packaging in France and Germany, has taken place today in Paris at ALL4PACK, the unmissable event for the packaging sector.

For the 4th PackTheFuture Award, a competition that is now a European benchmark in the plastic and flexible packaging sector, 48 entries were received from Austrian, French, German, Italian and Spanish firms, reflecting the sector’s dynamism and innovation capability.

According to current trend assessments, the German Plastics Packaging Industry Association (IK) is expecting a 5.1 percent increase in sales for German plastic packaging production in the current year and a 3.9% increase in volume.

After the deliberations of the independent jury, the list of winning innovations for the 4th edition of the PackTheFuture Award 2018 is closed. The contest promotes the creative and innovative potential of the plastic and flexible packaging sector and has become a European reference in the packaging sector. It is organized in cooperation by the two professional associations: ELIPSO, the French Plastic and Flexible Packaging Association, and IK, the German Plastics Packaging Association.

The IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen e. V. (German Association for Plastics Packaging and Films) rejects the proposed ban on selected plastic products announced today by the EU Commission. “With its far-reaching Plastics Strategy, announced at the start of the year, the EU Commission obliged all stakeholders in the value creation chain to share responsibility for sustainable recovery and reuse, thereby raising the bar considerably,” IK Managing Director Dr Jürgen Bruder explains.

On its General Assembly in March, the ICPP International Confederation of Plastics Packaging Manufacturers elected a new President for four years.