One of the most serious issues facing urbanized areas today is development of cost-effective environmentally acceptable disposal of the community’s solid waste. The solid waste generated in a community may be collected by private companies or governmental entities, or portions by both, but the assurance that the waste is ultimately disposed of in an environmentally safe manner is a governmental responsibility. Solid waste management is a major issue in the United States, because of increasing concerns with environmental problems. One potential solution is to use municipal solid waste, which, for all practical purposes is a renewable commodity, for the generation of electricity. An analysis by Penner and Richards showed that incineration of municipal waste, even after 30% of the waste was recycled, could provide as much electric power as eight large nuclear or coal generating stations. Their analysis further