ExxonMobil Signature Polymers and Italian polyethylene film converter Selene Group have developed heavy-duty sack (HDS) films incorporating 50% recycled polyethylene while maintaining the mechanical properties required for industrial packaging applications.
The development responds to increasing demand from brand owners and regulators for packaging solutions that include recycled content without compromising product protection during storage and transport. Heavy-duty sacks are widely used for packaging bulk materials such as polymer resins and chemicals, where high tear resistance, sealing strength, and drop performance are critical.
Selene developed the solution under its NextBag brand by combining recycled polyethylene with ExxonMobil performance polymers Exceed Tough+ m 1019 and Exxtra Seal m 1012. According to the companies, the formulation is designed to compensate for potential performance losses that can occur when recycled material is introduced into flexible packaging films.
The recycled material used in the sacks is produced from used resin bags collected from logistics centres. The bags are sorted, washed, de-inked and re-pelletised at Selene’s recycling facility before being incorporated into new film structures.
Testing results indicate that the films maintain mechanical properties comparable to virgin polyethylene formulations at the same thickness of around 125 microns. The sacks also demonstrated bag drop resistance and pallet stability during acceleration tests conducted according to the EUMOS40509 transport safety standard.
Another key objective of the development was ensuring compatibility with existing bagging equipment. The companies state that the films can be processed on current industrial filling lines without requiring changes to sealing temperatures or machine output settings.
The project reflects ongoing efforts within the flexible packaging sector to integrate recycled plastics into higher-performance applications while maintaining reliability in demanding industrial packaging uses.