The concern over solid waste disposal and dump-site clean-up has resulted in the passage of three major U.S. environmental laws. They are the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976, Public Law 94-580, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976, Public Law 94-469, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, Public Law 96-510. The implementation of these three laws has considerably intensified incineration research, because incineration represents the highest degree of destruction and environmental control possible for various waste types (types such as hazardous, medical and municipal waste). The objective of the paper is to review the fundamentals of incineration (combustion) and to provide an incinerator design example to show how combustion fundamentals are applied to an incineration system.