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Overcoming recycling barriers to transform global phosphorus management

Nature Reviews Earth & Environment (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

The global phosphorus challenge arises from the uneven distribution of phosphorus resources, environmental effects from phosphorus losses and unsustainable linear management. Despite progress in advanced phosphorus recycling, less than 1% of secondary phosphorus resources produced globally are recycled. In this Review, we comprehensively explore global barriers to phosphorus recycling. Manure (15–20 million tons P (MtP) yr−1), mining and fertilizer industry waste (6–12 MtP yr−1), wastewater (~3.7 MtP yr−1) and food waste (~1.2 MtP yr−1) are the major secondary phosphorus resources worldwide. In addition, accumulated legacy phosphorus in soil and sediment comprises a combined stock of more than 3,200 MtP. Phosphorus mismanagement and losses cost stakeholders US$265 billion annually, yet substantial barriers to phosphorus recycling remain. Key challenges to be overcome include low competitiveness of recycled phosphorus products, complex waste handling, limited legacy phosphorus recovery and fragmented collaboration among stakeholders. A shift is needed towards an integrated, systems-based approach that simultaneously addresses technical, economic and societal challenges. Transdisciplinary strategies and research will advance phosphorus recycling and the development of a sustainable, circular phosphorus economy. Incorporating the perspectives of diverse stakeholders will help drive increasingly sustainable phosphorus management.

Key points

  • Mineral phosphorus dependency, uneven global distribution, eutrophication and linear nutrient management are fundamental and deeply interconnected challenges in managing phosphorus.

  • Efficient phosphorus use and recycling are essential to closing the phosphorus cycle, but numerous barriers stand in the way of achieving this goal.

  • The existence of conflicting objectives among stakeholders is a key barrier to developing and implementing effective strategies for sustainable phosphorus use.

  • Successful strategies for circular management of phosphorus require improved communication, interdisciplinary research and transdisciplinary processes that incorporate the needs of all stakeholders.

  • Inclusive policies are vital to align incentives, foster collaboration and promote sustainable phosphorus-use practices.

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Fig. 1: Phosphorus cycle flows and challenges in the EU.
Fig. 2: Global phosphorus inputs and removals in agriculture.
Fig. 3: Global distribution and recovery amounts of advanced phosphorus recovery plants.
Fig. 4: Transdisciplinarity as a tool to overcome fragmentation through integration and stakeholder engagement.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank D. Stuligross for his expert copy editing. His sharp eye and thoughtful revisions greatly improved the clarity and readability of this manuscript. The RecaP project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 956454. K.R. and M.L.C. were further supported by the Poul Due Jensen Foundation (Grundfos Foundation) under grant no. 2020-068.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Henrique Rasera Raniro, Juan Serrano-Gomez.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Agronomy, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Tulln an der Donau, Austria

    Henrique Rasera Raniro & Jakob Santner

  2. Proman Management GmbH, Auersthal, Austria

    Juan Serrano-Gomez & Ludwig Hermann

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Technische Universität Wien, Vienna, Austria

    Juan Serrano-Gomez

  4. Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Harrie L. Mort, Teodor Kalpakchiev & Julia Martin-Ortega

  5. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Josephine Kooij & Dorette S. Müller-Stöver

  6. Fiber and Particle Engineering Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Yudong Zhao, Ana J. Guerrero-Esquivel & Henrikki Liimatainen

  7. Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Rodrigo M. Valença & Morten L. Christensen

  8. Department of Environmental Geography, Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Sinoxolo Magaya

  9. Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

    Leon Korving & Thomas Prot

  10. Department Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Philipp Wilfert & Mark van Loosdrecht

  11. Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Dana Cordell

  12. Institute for Plant Nutrition, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany

    Jakob Santner

  13. Global Futures Laboratory, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Matthew Scholz

  14. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Taastrup, Denmark

    Frederik van der Bom

  15. School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia

    Frederik van der Bom & Nelly S. Raymond

  16. Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Geography, People and Processes, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Nelly S. Raymond

  17. Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark

    Søren Krogh Jensen

  18. UK Trade Policy Observatory and Sussex Law School, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, UK

    Fiona Smith

  19. Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Kasper Reitzel

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Contributions

H.R.R. and J.S.-G. contributed to the project administration, conceptualization, visualization, data curation and writing of the original draft. H.L.M. contributed to the investigation, visualization, writing, reviewing and editing. T.K., J.K, Y.Z., R.M.V. and S.M. contributed to the investigation, writing, reviewing and editing. A.J.G.-E. contributed to the investigation. L.K., P.W. and T.P contributed to the conceptualization, supervision, investigation, validation, writing, reviewing and editing. J.M.-O., D.S.M.-S., M.v.L., D.C., J.S., H.L., L.H., M.S., M.L.C., F.v.d.B., S.K.J. and F.S. contributed to the investigation, validation, writing, reviewing and editing. N.S.R. contributed to the investigation, validation, visualization, writing, reviewing and editing. K.R. contributed to the project coordination, conceptualization, supervision, investigation, validation, writing, reviewing and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kasper Reitzel.

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Nature Reviews Earth & Environment thanks Jeremy Guest, who co-reviewed with Zixuan Wang, Eric Roy and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Raniro, H.R., Serrano-Gomez, J., Mort, H.L. et al. Overcoming recycling barriers to transform global phosphorus management. Nat Rev Earth Environ (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-025-00717-3

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