Cellulose is major constituent of the pollutant load in waste-water , making up approximately 30% of the total suspended solids. It is possible to separate cellulose from other organic matter in the crude sewage, and recycle it as a useful product. It therefore has a significant role as part of the circular economy. This has the additional benefit of reducing the bioresources throughput A number of UK water companies are considering implementing cellulose recovery from wastewater at their treatment works. Evaluation of the costs and benefits is complex as it significantly affects the effluent treatment process, the bioresources treatment process and the site energy balance. This paper considers the holistic impact of implementing cellulose recovery from crude sewage for nominal 50,000 and 250,000 population equivalent waste-water treatment works, the latter with a bioresources digestion facility, quantifying the energy, chemicals and greenhouse gas benefits and disbenefits. The paper also considers how cellulose recovery is achieved, the key design considerations, and highlights some of the unknowns associated with cellulose recovery.