Sweden
In 2018, a Swedish Government inquiry was set up to explore how to implement a ban on the decades-old practice of spreading sewage sludge on farmland and set new requirements for recycling the phosphorus found in sludge.

Poland
Municipal officials and local business leaders in the Polish city of Słupsk aren’t waiting for the benefits of the circular economy in renewable energy production and waste recycling to come to their corner of the Baltic Sea Region.

Finland
Phosphorus run-off from agriculture fields in southern Finland is the largest threat to water quality and living marine resources in this area of the Baltic Sea. Decades of attempts to reduce this run-off through traditional farming methods have proven inadequate.

Swedish sludge management at the crossroads
On 17 January 2020, a Swedish government inquiry published its recommendations on how to create a circular economy for phosphorus, a vital plant nutrient that is plentiful in sewage sludge, while reducing the perceived public and environmental health risks linked to spreading sludge directly on farmland.