PPWR is transforming the packaging market

Berlin (Germany), September 1, 2026: The new EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) marks the beginning of a new phase for the European packaging industry. In the future, packaging is to be designed for recycling, produced with greater resource efficiency and increasingly manufactured using recycled plastics. For manufacturers of extrusion blow moulded packaging, this represents a technological shift. Production solutions are required that enable high recycled content, save material and energy, and at the same time ensure consistent product quality.
For the machinery industry, this development opens up new opportunities: not only new machines, but also the technological upgrading of existing equipment can make an important contribution to this transformation.

PCR presents new challenges for extrusion
Post-consumer recycled material (PCR) can differ significantly from virgin material in terms of their material properties. Variations in viscosity, melt flow index, color and contamination place high demands on plasticization, melt flow and process control.
The challenge is therefore not simply to be able to process PCR. What matters is the ability to process high recycled contents reproducibly and economically while maintaining the required product quality.
This requires the extruders, extrusion head and process control to be considered as an integrated system.

Tri-extrusion: using recycled plastic where it makes sense
Tri-extrusion offers a particularly efficient way of integrating PCR.
Three extruders supply a multi-layer extrusion head with different materials. A typical concept, for example, consists of high-quality outer and inner layers with a core made from PCR material.
This allows virgin material to be concentrated specifically in the areas where it is technically required. Recycled material is used where it can perform its function without unnecessarily compromising surface quality or other specific product properties.
The result is a combination of:

• reduced use of virgin plastics,
• high recycled content,
• targeted material distribution,
• high product quality, and
• economical production.

This concept can offer significant advantages, particularly for jerry cans, bottles and technical hollow bodies.

The extrusion head becomes a strategic component
In extrusion blow moulding, the extrusion head is the link between material preparation and the actual forming process. In multi-layer applications, it plays a major role in determining how precisely and consistently the individual material layers are produced.
As a result, the extrusion head is gaining new strategic importance in the context of PPWR requirements.
Bekum has extensive expertise in the development and design of extrusion heads for demanding multi-layer applications. One example is the 3BKW55-3, which is designed for Tri-extrusion applications with two vertically arranged extruders.
The vertical extruder arrangement enables compact integration of the additional extrusion units and offers particularly interesting possibilities for retrofits.

New possibilities for existing machines
Switching to multi-layer production does not necessarily require the purchase of a completely new blow moulding machine.
Depending on the machine type, existing extrusion equipment, available space and the desired production concept, retrofitting the extrusion system and extrusion head can be an economically attractive alternative.
This can turn an existing mono-extrusion line into a multi-layer system – for example, for processing PCR in the core layer.
This creates new opportunities for packaging manufacturers:
Existing investments can continue to be used, production capabilities can be expanded, and new material concepts can be introduced at the same time.
Such a retrofit can be a sensible option, for example, when:

• an existing machine fleet remains mechanically and electrically capable,
• new packaging concepts require additional material layers,
• the use of PCR is to be increased in the future,
• the product range is to be expanded, or
• greater resource efficiency is to be achieved without a new machine investment.

The specific technical feasibility always depends on the existing machine, the extruders, the available installation space, the required throughput and the respective application.

Bekum: machine and extrusion head expertise from a single source
This capability is an essential part of Bekum's technological approach.
As a manufacturer of extrusion blow moulding machines, Bekum not only has expertise in complete systems, but also extensive know-how in the design and integration of extrusion systems and extrusion heads.
This enables Bekum to consider different ways of implementing new production requirements: from new machines and upgrades to existing equipment through to targeted retrofits of extrusion systems and extrusion heads.
This creates a decisive advantage for customers: the question is no longer simply which new machine is required, but first:
How can the existing machine fleet be technically and economically developed to meet the requirements of the next generation?

Sustainability starts with the right material distribution
Processing PCR is only one element. More sustainable production also means reducing overall material consumption and using energy efficiently.
Bekum pursues this approach, for example, with high-performance HiPEx extruders, precise wall-thickness programming and modern multi-layer concepts.
By placing materials precisely where they are needed, properties such as strength, barrier performance and surface quality can be combined with the most efficient possible use of material.
Not every part of a package has to be made from the same material – what matters is that each material is used where it is technically needed.

From PPWR requirements to a technical solution
The PPWR will gradually transform the packaging market. Manufacturers will need to address recyclability, percentage of recycled content, material efficiency and new packaging concepts.
For extrusion blow moulding technology, this means that flexible production systems will become increasingly important.
Tri-extrusion can be a key technology in this context: it enables the targeted integration of PCR while opening up new possibilities for material combinations and product designs.
And it can be more than an option for the next generation of machines.
Existing systems can also – depending on their technical prerequisites – be upgraded for new production requirements through targeted retrofits of extruders and the extrusion head.
This turns the extrusion head from a conventional machine component into a strategic technology element for transforming the machine fleet.
To achieve this, Bekum combines mechanical engineering, extrusion technology and application expertise. The aim is not only to develop new machines for the circular economy, but also to work with customers to create solutions that enable existing and new production systems to be developed economically.
Because the packaging of the future does not begin with recycling.
It begins with the right material and process technology – and therefore in the extrusion head.

Bekum will exhibit at the following trade fairs in 2026:

• Colombiaplast, Bogota Colombia - Pavillion 11-16, Stand 4884 (28.09.-02.10.2026)
• ABC Conference, Wheeling, Illinois USA - Table #41 (05.-07.10.2026)
• Pack Expo, Chicago USA – Booth W-49104 (18.-21.10.2026)
• Plastimagen, Mexico City Mexico – Halle B, Booth 2430 (10.-13.11.2026)