Sector CE.3 – Underground Waste Disposal

We may safely state that even if the Circular Economy will be fully implemented in the future, there is still a certain amount of material being generated that in some way cannot be used nor directly re-inserted in the Natural environment. At Present, regrettably, there are still large amounts of materials that need to be safely stored in a geologically stable situation.

At the moment the most important waste disposal SubSectors are:

• CE.3.1- Nuclear Waste Disposal
• CE.3.2-Chemical Waste Disposal

We regard the Carbon Capture and Storage also part of Waste Disposal, and it is described as the Sector SE1-CCS of the Sustainable Energy Mix Realm.

Geoscience is a key element in the identification of these sites, and OCRE believes that many of the specific capacities and technologies available in specific Industries, should be and can be applied in this delicate exercise.

Yucca Mountain Waste deposit site. From: Bechtel (2020).