EasyMining and Ragn-Sells Awarded 2026 Wastewater & Circularity Prize

The 2026 Wastewater & Circularity Prize goes to EasyMining and Ragn‑Sells for the development and commercialisation of technology and products for phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge ash.

The prize will be awarded at the “Water Wastewater Circularity” Conference (Vatten Avlopp Kretslopp) in Karlstad on 12 March 2026, where Sara Stiernström, Head of Product Development at EasyMining and Pär Larshans, Chief Sustainability Officer at Ragn‑Sells will receive the award.

Each year, the Swedish VA‑guiden presents the Wastewater & Circularity Prize to actors who have contributed to the development or accelerated the implementation of environmentally and circularity‑adapted wastewater solutions in the Nordic region or in countries with significant needs for improved sanitation.

Circular product and technology recognised
The 2026 prize is awarded to EasyMining and Ragn‑Sells for their extensive work in developing and commercialising phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge ash through the creation of the Ash2Phos process—the technology used to extract phosphorus from the ash of incinerated sewage sludge—and the circular product RevoCaP.

This prize is proof that circular solutions can truly make a difference. Last year, RevoCaP was approved for organic farming in the EU. Now we look forward to it also becoming legal for use in animal feed, so that we avoid sending recycled European phosphorus to North America while the EU imports its phosphorus from Russian mines.

Sara Stiernström, Head of Product Development at EasyMining

“Today’s wastewater can become tomorrow’s mine. Extracting high‑quality phosphorus and other valuable resources from sewage sludge is only the beginning, but it requires policymakers to clear away old obstacles,” said Pär Larshans, Chief Sustainability Officer at Ragn‑Sells.

From the jury’s motivation:
“Ragn‑Sells and its subsidiary EasyMining have, through diligent, determined, and long‑term work, developed both a new circular product from wastewater, RevoCaP, and an international market for this product. […]” Read the full jury motivation and VA‑guiden’s press release (both in Swedish).

The prize consists of a travel grant of SEK25,000, a toilet donated to a developing country through Toaletter Utan Gränser, a Towa designer watering can and an honourary diploma. In connection with the award ceremony, the prize recipients will also present their work and their perspectives on environmentally and circularity‑adapted wastewater systems.