Swedish government committee highlights Ragn-Sells’ phosphorus recovery in EU negotiations 

The Swedish government’s Implementation Council has chosen Ragn-Sells’ technology for recovering phosphorus from sewage as an example of how clashing legislations counteract circularity, in a report advising on EU negotiations on the Circular Economy Act.  
 
“The EU ban on recycled phosphorus in animal feed is an obvious example of outdated legislation hampering circular efforts. The Circular Economy Act offers a window for the EU to remove unnecessary obstacles to the circular transition,” says Pär Larshans, Chief Sustainability Officer at Ragn-Sells Group.  
 
The Act, a draft of which is expected later in 2026, will be the most comprehensive legislative package on circularity put forward by the European Union to date. The Implementation Council is a committee supporting the Swedish government in matters of EU legislation, including developing Sweden’s positions in EU negotiations.  
 
The Council’s report delivers several recommendations to the government. Among other reforms, it calls for a common single market for secondary raw materials and waste. According to the Council, this requires laws and regulations which do not disincentivise the use of circulated resources.  
 
“We appreciate the Council’s highlighting of clear examples of the EU’s circular ambitions clashing with existing legislation. The report reinforces the position which the Swedish government assumed in 2025: EU feed legislation must be updated to permit high-quality recovered phosphorus in animal feed," says Pär Larshans.  
 
”Current waste regulations can in many cases inhibit innovation and new recycling methods may have difficulty reaching the market”, the Council writes in its report, using Ragn-Sells’ and its innovation subsidiary EasyMining’s phosphorus recovery technology as an example. An annex to the existing feed regulation establishes that products originating from sewage may not be used in animal feed sold in the EU.   
 
Lacking in natural phosphate deposits, the EU is dependent on importing the agricultural nutrient which is crucial to food production. Currently, Russia is the source of more than 20 per cent of imports. 
 
“It is simply dangerous for Europe to put one-fifth of its food security in the hands of Russia, but this can be changed. By opening up the feed market for recycled phosphorus, the EU can kick-start a multi-billion eurobillion-euro industry that will strengthen its safety and competitiveness through domestic phosphorus production,” says Jan Svärd, CEO of EasyMining.  
 
The EU Commission has the authority to permit recovered phosphorus in feed by rewriting the annex, without having to open up the full regulation for review.  
 
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 
 
Fact box: The Swedish Implementation Council’s report 
The Implementation Council is a committee under the Swedish government tasked with strengthening the competitiveness of businesses through recommendations on the implementation of EU legislation in Sweden, as well as contributing to the development of Sweden’s positions in EU negotiations.  
 
The report delivers several recommendations to the government ahead of negotiations on the upcoming Circular Economy Act. Among other things, the Council urges the government to:

• push for a common single market for waste and secondary materials. 

• promote coherence between adjacent regulatory frameworks 

• work for EU legislation where secondary raw materials are recognised as resources instead of being considered as waste as a starting point.