Ragn-Sells in advance of meeting with EU Commissioner Jessika Roswall

“Outdated rules are holding back the circular economy”

The EU aims to reduce its dependence on imports and build a more circular economy. However, current legislation is slowing the recycling of key raw materials. In advance of meeting with EU Commissioner Jessika Roswall, Swedish environmental company Ragn-Sells is highlighting the need to change rules that restrict the use of recycled phosphorus.

“The EU ban on recycled phosphorus in animal feed is a clear example of outdated legislation counteracting circular efforts. The Circular Economy Act gives the EU an opportunity to remove unnecessary obstacles to the circular transition,” says Pär Larshans, Chief Sustainability Officer at Ragn-Sells Group.  

EU Commissioner Jessika Roswall has invited Ragn-Sells to a high-level meeting in Brussels on Thursday to discuss how regulatory simplification can strengthen the circular economy, competitiveness and resilience in the EU. One of the issues to be raised is the regulatory framework for phosphorus, where an annex in the EU Feed Regulation prohibits the use of recycled materials in animal feed.

The Swedish government has urged the Commission to review these rules, as a first step by requesting a new risk assessment from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), as a basis for revising the legislation.

“The government believes that all relevant EU legislation should include requirements to promote the recycling of phosphorus from wastewater and sewage sludge,” said EU Minister Jessica Rosencrantz in a press release prior to her visit to the Ragn-Sells and EasyMining research centre earlier in April.

Phosphorus is necessary for the production of mineral fertilisers and animal feed, and thus for food production. The EU has only one active phosphate mine, in Finland, which covers around 10 per cent of demand. The rest is imported, primarily from countries such as Russia and Morocco. Ragn-Sells’ innovation company EasyMining enables phosphorus to be recovered from incinerated sewage sludge ash through the Ash2Phos process it has developed.

The European Commission has approved phosphorus recovered from incinerated sewage sludge ash for use as fertiliser in organic farming. However, an outdated EU rule still prohibits its use in animal feed, even though such recycled phosphorus is today purer than the phosphorus imported from, among others, Russia.

“It is risky that Europe has placed part of its food supply in the hands of Russia. But that dependency can be broken. By opening up the feed market for recycled phosphorus, the EU can lay the foundation for a multi-billion euro industry that will strengthen both security and competitiveness through domestic phosphorus production,” says Jan Svärd, CEO of EasyMining.

For more information, please contact  
Pär Larshans, Chief Sustainability Officer at Ragn-Sells Group, +46 70 927 29 63, par.larshans@ragnsells.com  
Jan Svärd, CEO of EasyMining, +46 70-978 64 74, jan.svard@easymining.com   
Debby Porter Laffitte, Press Officer, +46 70 927 24 00, press@ragnsells.com 

Facts: Ragn-Sells’ proposals to the European Commission

1. Remove the ban on phosphorus recovered from incinerated sewage sludge ash in animal feed, in line with the proposal submitted by the Swedish government. Assess products based on quality rather than origin and initiate a new EFSA risk assessment as a basis for regulatory change.

2. Classify phosphorus as a strategic resource. High-quality phosphorus should be designated as a strategic raw material under the Critical Raw Materials Act.

3. Set ambitious requirements for phosphorus recovery. Establish high targets for the mandatory recovery of phosphorus from wastewater treatment plants currently being developed by the Commission, drawing on experience from countries such as Germany and Austria.

4. Reform EU water legislation. Ensure that regulations do not hinder the recovery of critical raw materials from waste and water streams, but instead enable investment in circular technologies.

5. Enable the recycling of nutrients from fish sludge. Introduce a clear EU-wide definition of fish sludge and include it in fertiliser legislation.

Source: Ragn-Sells

Facts: Circular Economy Act

• The European Commission is expected to present a Circular Economy Act in 2026, aimed at strengthening competitiveness, reducing import dependency and increasing the use of recycled materials in the EU.

• A key issue is how to simplify regulation to create a functioning internal market for secondary raw materials. Today, some provisions restrict the use of recycled materials, even when quality is comparable to virgin resources.

• Phosphorus is a concrete example. While recycled phosphorus is allowed in fertilisers, its use in animal feed remains prohibited under older legislation.

• The Swedish Implementation Council has highlighted the need to remove such barriers and points to phosphorus recycling as an example of technology that can increase circularity and reduce import dependency.