The German plastics packaging industry association Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen (IK, Bad Homburg; www.kunststoffverpackungen.de) and their French counterpart Elipso (Paris; www.elipso.org) want to deepen their cooperation that was established in 2011. The two associations want to focus their partnership on topics like eco design, market development and image. The problems arising from marine litter will also be taken on together in the future. Their respective teams met for the first time at the beginning of July in Paris.

“We decided to go further in our cooperation and to work more closely with our German colleagues in order to share knowledge, experiences and to issue some common positions on various topics. Elipso and IK want an 'Europe en marche',” says Elipso’s managing director Emmanuel Guichard. “As national associations we have been speaking successfully for our respective members for many years," managing director of IK Jürgen Bruder adds, “However, we are aware of increasing challenges on European level, first of all regarding environment and sustainability, which can only be met in very close cooperation.”