Press Release: Environment: How can we use phosphorus more efficiently and create opportunities for recycling?

The European Commission is launching a consultation on how to use phosphorus in a more sustainable way. Phosphorus is widely used in agriculture and is an essential component in fertiliser and animal feed, but it is a resource which has no substitute. Supplies are limited, prices have been volatile and much phosphorus is currently wasted, creating concerns about the cost and availability of future supplies in the EU and worldwide.

The consultation asks how to ensure that reserves are available for future generations, and about ways to minimise the undesirable side effects phosphorus use can have on the environment. Phosphorus run-off from farm fields to watercourses, for example, can lead to increased growth of aquatic plants and algae, a phenomenon known as eutrophication.

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