Abstract: Successive pouches are formed from a web of plastic film by advancing the web through a folding station and folding the web along a longitudinal fold line to form a two-ply portion and a single ply portion adjacent thereto. At a sealing station, confronting surfaces of the two-ply folded portion of the web are sealed together along longitudinally spaced apart seal areas extending transversely across the two-ply portion to define a series of successive pouches interconnected by the seal areas. At a flap forming station predetermined waste areas are severed and removed from the single ply portion of the web to form the same into a series of successive flaps extending alongside each of the pouches and adapted for being folded over the pouches to close the same.