[VladRussian]

that waste can be burned in another types of reactors. Unfortunately, because of extremely high entry barrier, there isn't much chances for these or some other new types of reactors to be developed and put into production. Ie. we stuck with almost 60 year old technology [pretty much the first generation with some slight modifications] of nuclear energy production.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveling_wave_reactor

[natnat]

Doesn't burning nuclear waste just turn it into a gas or a pile of ash with the same radioactive elements? Burning is a chemical reaction, so the actual nuclei of the atoms shouldn't be changed at all.

[VladRussian]

it is nuclear "burning". The point is to have designs which produce less dangerous waste [ideally the chain of nuclear reactions should end with non-radioactive elements, yet the reality is far from ideal] or use the existing waste to produce energy from it - the "waste" of existing reactors is still extremely potent nuclear fuel as the existing, very primitive and dating back to Manhattan Project, designs are just skimming the top, easiest, portion of energy.

My favorite is mixed design - nuclear fusion core which itself may be even a bit net energy negative (and thus much more realistic in the near future) and which main purpose is to generate neutrons to burn pretty much anything "heavy" and cheap. Turn the power to the core off - the thing just stops.