EU’s Circular Economy Act: A Game-Changer for a Competitive and Circular Europe

The EU’s upcoming Circular Economy Act is set to play a key role in accelerating the transition towards a more competitive and sustainable circular economy. Ragn-Sells recently was given the opportunity to take part in the Clean Industrial Dialogue on Circularity and contribute to shaping this important piece of legislation. 

Ragn-Sells Group’s CEO, Lars Linden, was invited to be part of the dialogue, and he shared his perspectives and insights on building a truly circular society. He highlighted that it requires a fundamental shift in how we view waste – not as a burden, but as the only truly sustainable source of critical raw materials. This requires focus on the quality of materials, rather than their origin. 
 
“Europe already has the knowledge, technology, and industrial capacity to lead the global transition to a more circular society – now we need the tools to accelerate this shift. I am confident that the Circular Economy Act has the potential to be a game-changer for achieving a competitive circular economy in Europe, and we are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this process,” says Lars Lindén, CEO of Ragn-Sells Group. 

With the proper legal framework, Europe could fulfil its own needs as well as become an exporter of recycled raw materials, such as phosphorus and magnesium, which would create an essential competitive edge. 

“More than half of all climate emissions stem from the unsustainable extraction and processing of virgin materials. Therefore, moving towards a more circular economy can help us to curb global warming and stay within the Planetary Boundaries, while also boosting Europe’s competitiveness. But for that to happen, we need a whole new attitude towards waste,” he explains. 

Today’s waste hierarchy treats waste as a problem to be minimised rather than a potential source of high-quality resources. “This makes it expensive, complicated, and sometimes even illegal to source raw materials from waste, even when the final product is superior,” Lars Lindén notes.  

For example, the EU prohibits the use of high-quality recycled phosphorus from incinerated sewage sludge ash in animal feed, simply because it originates from waste. “Meanwhile, Europe continues to import phosphorus from Russia, despite efforts to stifle the Russian war economy,” he says. 

Ragn-Sells is already contributing to the circular transition by developing solutions that enable the recovery of high-quality materials from waste streams. “We offer technology for producing clean phosphorus from sewage sludge. We turn fish poop from aquaculture into energy and fertilisers, and extract potassium from the ashes from waste incineration, and more,” Lars Lindén says. 

However, Lindén stresses that recycling alone is not enough to enable a truly circular economy and added that first the demand for recycled content in new products must increase, while ensuring that what goes back into circulation is clean and safe, and why detoxification must become a core part of circular strategies. 

Lindén also notes that the Commission’s recognition that circularity as the key to creating a more competitive, resilient, and sustainable Europe is a welcome development and that the Circular Economy Act represents a significant step in that direction. “The primary purpose of this legislation must be to reduce the extraction of virgin raw materials by producing high quality materials that the industry desires, rather than merely minimising waste, as is currently the case,” Lars Lindén concludes. 

For more information, please contact: 
Lars Lindén, CEO, Ragn-Sells Group, +46 70 927 27 78, lars.linden@ragnsells.com  
Debby Porter Laffitte, Press Officer, Ragn-Sells Group, +46 10 723 24 16, press@ragnsells.com