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Incineration with heat recovery has been extensively developed in both Europe and the United States. In the United States, the cities of Saugus, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Nashville, Tennessee; and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, currently utilize large steam producing combustion systems to dispose of their solid wastes. Systems are in construction or undergoing start-up in Niagara Falls, New York; Akron, Ohio; Pinellas County, Florida; and Tacoma, Washington. Air emissions control systems for modern incinerators are considerably more sophisticated than the earlier incinerators. High efficiency electro- static precipitators are commonly used to control particulate emissions. The Saugus, Massachusetts, installation has met both the State of Massachu- setts and Federal air standards. It remains a question, however, whether an incinerator, equipped with even the most advanced air pollution control equipment, can operate in compliance with the requirements of the California Air Resources Board and local districts. Refuse -Derived Fuel (RDF) Production Refuse -derived fuel production involves a series of size reduction and separation processes for converting refuse into a form suitable for use as a substitute for a fossil fuel. Normally, RDF is used as a partial replace- ment for coal in existing boiler installations. As a fuel product, RDF has approximately one-half of the heat content of coal. The technology of RDF production was first demonstrated in St. Louis during the 1970's. Since that time, a number of RDF plants have been con- structed throughout the United States. Many different processing schemes have been used in the production of RDF. Generally, an RDF plant contains a shredding line, magnetic separators and an air classifier for removal of noncombustible materials. Additional equipment which may be integrated in the plant design include trommels and screens for additional contaminant removal, glass recovery systems, nonferrous separators and dryers. Some plants have.been constructed with redundant processing lines to increase the system reliability. The cost of disposal at RDF plants varies widely as a function of the complexity of the plant design and corresponding capital cost, revenues from the sale of RDF, operation and maintenance costs, operating tonnage levels, etc. Typical disposal fees at operating facilities are in the range of $8 to $16 per ton. To date, RDF has been marketed primarily to electric utilities for use as a supplemental fuel in coal-fired boilers. All existing power plants in Los Angeles are designed to burn either oil or natural gas and do not have the ash handling facilities or particulate removal equipment which are already part of a coal -burning installation. Therefore, the costs of convert- ing an oil fuel boiler to burn RDF are considerably higher.