ICESP, the Italian Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, has published a new report on critical raw materials circularity. Notably, it includes the LANDFEED project’s Italian Use Case as a recognised best practice. The report, From Dependency to Circularity: The Strategic Role of Critical Raw Materials (2026), maps critical raw materials circularity initiatives from across Italy and Europe. Its focus is on reducing dependence on imported virgin raw materials.
What is ICESP and why does this matter?
ICESP is the Italian mirror platform of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP). It brings together over 400 participants from 205 organisations. These span industry, research, public institutions, and civil society. Consequently, inclusion in its best practice database signals recognition within a broad European community working towards the circular transition.
The LANDFEED UC4 Approach
Use Case 4 sits at the heart of the LANDFEED project. The University of Catania coordinates it, in collaboration with ENEA, IRECOM s.r.l., and Società Agricola Assoro Biometano. Together, they focus on recovering phosphorus from seven types of organic waste found across Sicily. These include industrial sludge, urban sewage sludge, aquaculture sludge, volcanic ash from Etna, citrus processing by-products, agricultural digestate, and microalgal residues.
Rather than extracting phosphorus as a pure salt, the team aggregates it alongside nitrogen and potassium. The result is a bio-based fertiliser, produced through co-composting and multi-matrix blending. Furthermore, the approach relies on an adaptive formulation strategy. In other words, instead of composting whatever materials happen to be available, the process starts from the desired fertiliser specification. It then works backwards to select and combine input streams accordingly.
This output-driven model draws on an industrial symbiosis network facilitated by ENEA. As a result, it transforms low-value organic residues into high-quality fertiliser products. In addition, it reduces dependence on imported virgin phosphorus and substitutes synthetic chemical fertilisers. The project runs from September 2024 to August 2028 under the EU Horizon Europe programme. It holds a TRL 8 rating, reflecting a technology validated in operational conditions.
Looking ahead
As the EU moves towards stricter targets on recycling and circularity, projects like LANDFEED demonstrate that critical raw materials circularity is already happening at industrial scale. Recognition by ICESP confirms the approach as a model worth replicating across Europe.