A bulk material is compacted from its bulk state into a rectangular parallelepiped so that it can readily be wrapped with stretch film. To this end, a stretch film is wrapped spirally around a cylindrical skirt section having an open end while the stretch film is being moved towards the open end of the skirt section, thereby forming a cylinder of such stretch film. While the cylinder of wrapped film is being moved further, a pressed load material is pushed out of the skirt section to push the pressed load material into the cylinder of wrapped film fed past the open end of the skirt section. The wrapped cylindrical film is severed at positions spaced from opposite ends of the load material covered therewith or is sealed at these opposite ends.