The composition of municipal solid waste is examined along with its products of combustion and the ability of conventional grate incinerators to extract energy from the post recycling/composting residual waste stream. Recent improvements in gas clean-up are documented with plant operational data. It is demonstrated that energy recovery from residual municipal solid waste incineration is environmentally friendly and effects major savings in greenhouse gas emissions by comparison with conventional fossil-fuelled power generation or landfill. It is concluded that modern installations are extremely rigorously controlled and that public confidence may, thereby, be reinforced.