To sustain good harvests, about 975,000 tons of mineral phosphorus need to be imported to Europe every year, while the potentials to recover and recycle this essential resource remain untapped or are just inefficiently used as in the case of sewage sludge. In the recent years various technical alternatives to the traditional but disputed application of sludge in agriculture have been developed to recover the nutrient. Especially user friendly solutions have already made their way to full-scale or at least pilot-scale application. National and international initiatives are dedicated to foster the implementation of new solutions, to bridge the gaps between the relevant sectors of science, policy and industry to finally increase the overall anthropogenic phosphorus efficiency according to the motto of the recent First European Sustainable Phosphorus Conference: use less, recycle more and cooperate smart. (www.phosphorusplatform.eu)