The demand for higher energy production, greater availability and lower environmental strain has led to the design of a new generation of waste incinerators. In order to lower the costs per tonne of burned waste, plant size has grown significantly during the last decade. In 1998 Ansaldo Volund A/S, Denmark, commissioned the Vestforbraending 5 municipal solid waste (MSW) plant, which has a maximum continuous rating of 26 tonne waste per hour at 12 MJ kg-l. The size of the combustion system makes it difficult to control by visual means alone. Furthermore, the demand for burnout and low emissions requires that the correct temperature and oxygen levels exist in the furnace in order to stage the combustion in a proper way. This paper presents results obtained at Vestforbraending 5 and describes how the design of furnace and boiler was affected by the proposed control philosophy.