Nuclear energy questions

>>we should rid of all nuclear energy and destroy all the power plants.
how to win this argument: point out that solar power and geothermal power are nuclear power. Point out that fossil fuels are really nuclear power too.

Also come out of left field and start advocating for nuclear fusion power. There are zero risks of meltdown with fusion power and the amount of nuclear waste produced is practically nil. Point out that we could get aneutronic fusion to work, which for all intents and purposes would not produce nuclear waste because it doesn't produce neutrons. It's a debate class, fusion doesn't have to work for you to argue that it can.

) What exactly is nuclear waste? What makes it waste?
nuclear fuel that don't burn too good. also what said
) Why can we not recycle the waste?
france does.
) Is it feasible to just shoot the waste into space?
yeah, but rocket launches have much too high of a failure rate. Very deep borehole disposal works:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_borehole_disposal
Past a certain depth, there's practically no chance of it coming up. If they try to say it could leak like fracking, point out that you aren't pumping massive amounts of water in like fracking does

Nuclear waste is easily containable; a reactor over a year will generate 20 metric tons of waste. No need to launch it into space etc. just put it in a hardened building. Compare this contained waste to all the waste that other forms of power, like coal will put into the air like lead, mercury, and sulfates. Personally, I am more terrified by the thought of breathing in mercury compared to people who are terrified by the perception of nuclear power that comes from movies. Plus no carbon emissions.