Following the STOWA roadmap to the WWTP of the future, this session explores a forward-looking vision of wastewater treatment plants in which most of the COD is physically removed, either early in the process or after biological treatment in a membrane bioreactor. This approach implies redirecting wastewater treatment from oxidation to resource recovery. We will shed light on pathways for carbon recovery and valorization, including the direct reuse of particulate carbon streams, as well as controlled fermentation to produce targeted platform chemicals. The session will also examine biological technologies that convert these platform chemicals into higher-value products, including but not limited to biopolymers. In this way, WWTPs start to position themselves as circular biorefineries.