Pregis will debut a monomaterial metallized polyethylene (PE) high-barrier sealant film at Pack Expo International 2026, held Oct. 18-21 at McCormick Place in Chicago. The launch coincides with the five-year anniversary of Pregis introducing one of the first ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) barrier sealant films qualified for store drop-off recycling.

The Chicago-headquartered supplier of protective packaging, mailing and bagging solutions framed the milestone as evidence that high-barrier flexible packaging can now be specified for the same store drop-off stream as everyday PE film.

What is Pregis introducing?

The new metallized PE sealant film targets applications that have historically required metallized oriented polypropylene (OPP) or metallized PET. According to Pregis, the product delivers barrier performance and processability comparable to those legacy multi-material structures and carries prequalification as store drop-off recyclable through How2Recycle.

For coffee, snack, pet food and adjacent food packaging categories, the converter says the film removes one of the last technical reasons to keep a mixed-material structure on a spec sheet.

What is the Renew portfolio?

The new film joins Pregis Performance Flexibles Renew Series, a sustainable flexible packaging lineup organized around four design principles: recyclability, renewable inputs, recycled content and material reduction. The Renew portfolio has carried the bulk of Pregis' flexible packaging development since the original EVOH launch.

Pregis will also spotlight its U-Series ultra-high-durability sealant film. Engineered to remove nylon from the packaging structure — the component that has blocked recycling in conventional high-barrier films — the U-Series preserves barrier and durability performance while running at thin gauges.

The thin gauges let customers downgauge conventional high-barrier structures, cutting material use, lowering carbon footprint and shrinking the volume of packaging that falls under EPR fee calculations.

Where does EPR fit?

"Every one of these structures started with a customer telling us what they could not give up, whether that was shelf life, line speed or a particular package format," Bob Gargione, president of Pregis Performance Flexibles, said in remarks prepared for the show.

"Our job was to deliver a recycle-ready answer that performed the same way on their equipment. Now, five years in, the portfolio is broad enough that recyclability is no longer the tradeoff it used to be, and that matters more every time another state enacts EPR [extended producer responsibility] regulations."

EPR programs are moving state by state, with producer fees tied to recyclability, postconsumer recycled (PCR) content and other attributes. Pregis said it is building the portfolio so customers can hit those requirements as they take effect, rather than reformulate packaging under deadline pressure.

What happens next?

Pack Expo International 2026, Oct. 18-21 at McCormick Place, serves as the formal venue.

Adoption of the metallized PE sealant film and the U-Series by coffee, snack and pet food brands will test whether Pregis can scale monomaterial high-barrier structures across categories that have historically resisted store drop-off streams.

State-by-state EPR fee schedules — still rolling out across U.S. jurisdictions — will determine how quickly the gap between barrier performance and recyclability disappears from packaging specification conversations.