Electric cables in decommissioned nuclear power plants which were previously incinerated can now have their copper recovered using a new technique successfully trialled by Veolia.

The company says it has developed a method to safely handle the wires to dispose of the plastic coating which surrounds and protects the copper wire within it from radiation.

Veolia says that "standard thin gauge to heavy duty electrical cables will make up hundreds of tonnes of waste during the planned decommissioning across various projects" and an initial trial of 12 tonnes of cable that were stripped of their contaminated plastic coating found that the exposed cores of the wires were tested for radioactivity and found to be safe, producing four tonnes of copper for recycling.

Copper is used in many domestic appliances, computers, pipework, construction and numerous other places including musical instruments and statues. It is plentiful within the earth's crust but the amount which is currently deemed to be economically viable to be mined is about 60 years' worth, Veolia said.

It estimates that using the recycled copper from decommissioned nuclear power plants saves around 85% of the carbon emissions associated with copper sulphide extraction from large open pit mines.

Nicola Henshaw, Managing Director Hazardous at Veolia UK, said: "Utilising our expertise in decontamination, depollution and hazardous waste, part of our global GreenUp strategy, we’ve helped the nuclear industry significantly reduce its waste and salvage valuable materials. As more end of life nuclear facilities are decommissioned this new process represents a new way of capturing valuable resources from this industry. With pressure on the earth’s copper reserves, more demand from industry, and the need to reduce carbon emissions, this latest innovation marks an advance towards a circular economy."

The Veolia group has operations in 57 countries and employs more than 210,000 people across waste management, water management and energy services. Its operations in the UK include the decommissioning programme for Magnox nuclear reactors where its work ranges from initial surveys through decontamination to appropriate disposal.