Winpack and ExxonMobile collaboration: Up to 50% post-consumer recycled content, without compromised performance, signals new momentum in stretch film sustainability.
As the push for circular packaging intensifies, one area that has remained stubbornly difficult to decarbonize is the stretch film used to secure palletized goods during transport. Thin, technical, and often single-use, stretch wrap presents major challenges for recyclability and reuse. But a recent collaboration between ExxonMobil and Chilean film converter Winpack Group is demonstrating that progress is not only possible—it’s commercially viable.
The two companies have successfully developed both manual and automatic stretch films that incorporate up to 50% post-consumer recycled (PCR) polyethylene content without compromising critical performance attributes such as load containment, stretch, cling, or processing efficiency. The project is already enabling Winpack to reprocess and reintegrate approximately 300 tons of recycled content per month.
The solution leverages ExxonMobil’s newly unified Signature Polymers portfolio, specifically its Exceed™, Exceed™ Tough, and Vistamaxx™ performance polymers, to offset the variability of mechanically recycled materials. By dialing in mechanical properties and enhancing film consistency, these materials enable high PCR content even in demanding logistics applications.
Winpack Addresses Rising Trend and an Unsolved Challenge
The Winpack case reflects a broader industry shift toward using recycled content in flexible and secondary packaging, particularly stretch wrap. While primary packaging in rigid formats (such as bottles and tubs) has seen steady gains in recycled content over the past decade, stretch film has lagged. Thin-gauge requirements, precise performance specs, and contamination concerns have all limited the use of recycled input—until now.
Yet momentum is building. Driven by Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, corporate climate pledges, and packaging taxes such as those implemented in the EU and the UK, brand owners and logistics providers are actively looking for stretch film solutions that reduce virgin plastic use. Many are starting with post-industrial recycled (PIR) content. But as Winpack’s General Manager, Andres Baboun, points out, “There is a high demand from Brand Owners for film solutions that incorporate post-consumer recycled content.” Meeting that demand requires closing the loop at scale.
“Using Exceed performance polymers allowed for the increased incorporation of PCR content in the film without affecting the final stretch performance,” said Juan Manuel Osorio, Winpack’s Packaging Division Operations Manager. Laboratory tests showed that the films passed internal safety standards for secure pallet wrapping, with both manual and automatic formats holding up under real-world conditions.
What Makes This Case Noteworthy?
The breakthrough lies not just in the recycled content figure, but in maintaining processability and consistency despite sourcing from a mixed post-consumer waste stream. Winpack processes its own mechanically recycled PCR feedstock in Chile, navigating variable input quality and achieving traceability from collection through extrusion. ExxonMobil’s materials help stabilize and boost the mechanical profile of the film, compensating for these irregularities.
In the manual stretch film, Exceed™ m 4518.CB enabled Winpack to push PCR content from 30% to 50%, with solid stretch performance at up to 150 meters and adequate tear resistance. For the automatic version, Exceed™ Tough m 3812.CB provided the durability needed to hold 30% PCR while performing comparably to virgin-grade alternatives at speeds up to 2 meters per second. In both formats, Vistamaxx™ 6102FL was used to enhance cling and ensure secure load containment.
Just as importantly, the new stretch films can be run on existing equipment without modification. That’s critical for adoption in large logistics operations, where any change to film behavior can result in downtime, load failures, or added labor.
While reusable wraps and pallet nets have become established, their deployment is currently limited to niche, closed-loop scenarios. For open-loop or large-scale shipping, recyclable stretch film remains the most practical secondary packaging option, so making it less dependent on virgin plastic is a key circularity goal. The Winpack-ExxonMobil case demonstrates that post-consumer content can be integrated meaningfully, not just symbolically.
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Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and editor of Western Pallet Magazine. A supply chain journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in pallets, reusable packaging, material handling and related operations. Rick is co-author of Pallets: A North American Perspective and Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling 1922–1945. He is also an advisory board member of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design. Read Rick’s full bio.
