Around here, every day is Earth Day, but it’s always fun to celebrate sustainability a little bit extra! As your resident sustainability nerd, I think a lot about material circularity in my free time. When we think about sustainability, we often hear the phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle.” It’s the cornerstone of what’s known as the circular economy—an approach to managing our limited resources in a way that minimizes waste, maximizes value, and keeps materials in use for as long as possible. While you may be familiar with reuse and recycling for other industries, like thrifted fashion or recycled electronics, the nuclear energy sector has quietly been working on resource efficiency for decades, too.
Let’s take a closer look at how nuclear energy fits into a circular economy.
Step 1: Reduce.
Reducing the electricity we use in our daily lives so that we don’t need to build more is the first answer. This usually looks like installing energy efficient appliances and insulation in homes. At the same time, the expected increase in electricity needs due to things like the deployment of artificial intelligence and electrification of cars and industrial processes like steelmaking is so significant that we will most likely outpace the gains realized from energy efficiency measures.
Step 2: Reuse.
The next best option is getting more electricity out of what we already have built. The most circular option of all? Keeping existing plants running longer. Many nuclear facilities are built to last and meticulously maintained for long-term operation up to and beyond 80 years. Instead of tearing down a plant and starting from scratch, utilities are pursuing life extensions, increasing capacity for production with uprates, and even restarting some shut down reactors, preserving the energy and materials that went into building them in the first place.
The Crane Clean Energy Center and Palisades nuclear plant powered their communities with safe, clean energy around the clock. They are being restarted because we need their reliable electricity, and they come without additional land use change or lengthy applications for connection to the electric grid. Even when considering new nuclear plants, organizations are evaluating “brownfield” sites—locations that have already been used—which minimize disruption to the environment and maximize near-term value. If we can use the same transmission lines and connections, why not? Reuse is a win for everyone: utilities, their communities, and the Earth.
Step 3: Recycle.
Now let’s discuss recycling—a topic near and dear to my heart! One of the core tenets of a circular economy is that waste has value. From building and electrical materials to used fuel, the nuclear industry certainly has waste in the conventional sense. These materials are not just waste, though—they’re valuable resources.
When older nuclear plants are decommissioned, they leave behind more than a legacy of clean energy and service to the community. They also contain steel, copper, and other metals that can be safely recovered and reused or recycled depending on their characteristics. If there are residual radioactive elements on the materials, they can sometimes be cleaned. (Research is even being done on how to reuse some residual radioactive isotopes that support medical treatments, too!)
Once these materials are cleaned and tested, they can find new life in other metal products, both within and beyond the energy sector . Nuclear plants require ultra-high-quality materials that meet established codes and standards, so not everything can go back into the nuclear industry. However, some do go to scrap recycling to become wrenches and other products we use in our daily lives, and some go to specialized applications like research labs. With proper testing and certification, these materials can help reduce environmental impact without compromising safety.
Additionally, with used fuel reprocessing technology, uranium and plutonium can be recovered and reused to make new fuel. Countries like France have been doing this for years, producing what’s known as mixed oxide (MOX) fuel that can power nuclear reactors again. The process doesn’t reuse all the materials in used nuclear fuel, but any movement toward a more circular nuclear fuel supply chain is positive! While this doesn’t eliminate the need for long-term storage, this gets more energy from every ounce of uranium we mine. Like many circular initiatives, the value and economics of the processes must align, but there is growing interest in nuclear fuel recycling in the United States to support tomorrow’s nuclear reactors. Some advanced reactor designs, like fast reactors and molten salt reactors, can use spent fuel from today’s nuclear plants to produce new power.
Nuclear energy is often recognized for its low-carbon footprint, but its contributions to resource efficiency are just as important. Whether it’s through reusing fuel, recycling materials, or extending the life of critical infrastructure, nuclear power fits naturally into the circular economy. As we look for solutions that are both clean and smart, it’s clear that nuclear isn’t just part of the future—it’s helping to shape it.
