Eli5 why can’t radioactive waste be used again? Why is it waste?
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It is like recycling plastics, burning wood or oil, or many other processes. The energy that is created by a nuclear reaction is a one way trip. It takes much more work to recover the waste and make it useful again.
It becomes very difficult and not cost effective to reverse the process or use the left over waste for anything useful.
In fusion, two atoms combine to form a more stable combination. It releases energy during this bonding process. Example: superglue and glue accelerator. It gets hot but then the glue bonds together for a very durable connection. It is NOT easy to break this new bond. The same is true in nuclear fusion. It takes much more energy to break the waste apart and make it like new again.
Fission: The two atoms hit each other like a bullet hitting glass. Everything breaks into smaller pieces. Energy is released in the reaction. There is no efficient method to combine the atoms together again. It becomes too difficult to glue the proverbial glass back together again. The result is “waste”.
In either fission or fusion reactions, there is a common theme: the leftover items after the reaction are not useful for anything. The atoms that remain are still radioactive. They can’t be safely used for anything near humans. Because of all that scattering around of electrons, protons, and neutrons, it isn’t 100% always reliable how consistently radioactive the waste is. Maybe this blob is very radioactive. Maybe that other blob is a little more usable. It would be like sorting through the leftovers and trying to find something useful. That makes nuclear waste to be unreliable for using for other products (such as medical anti-cancer treatments, batteries, etc. ) The waste is quite literally too hazardous to sort through for anything useful and reliable.
That is why radioactive waste is buried deep in the ground away from everybody. The radioactive stuff came from the Earth, so back to the Earth it goes. And to be extra safe, it is placed in special locations where bad guys or even just curious hobbyists can’t reach it and hurt someone.
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