The paper summarizes the rationale for EPA's good combustion practice (GCP) strategy. The goals of GCP are to maximize furnace destruction of organic pollutants, limit the relative amount of particulate matter (PM) carried out of the combustor with flue gases (PM carryover), and ensure that the PM control device is operated at temperatures that do not result in the formation of excessive amounts of chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and chlorinated dibenzofurans (CDD/CDF). EPA's strategy incorporates three continuous compliance parameters: carbon monoxide (CO) emissions, furnace steam load, and PM control device inlet temperature. Experimental data are provided to show that furnace emission of organics is correlated with CO concentration, the amount of PM carryover (which is related to load), and temperature at the PM control device inlet. The relationships between the GCP compliance parameters and other combustion parameters which are necessary ingredients of good combustion (uniformity of waste feed, the amount and distribution of excess air, combustion temperature and residence time, and mixing of combustion air with thermal decomposition products) are also discussed.