Abstract: An incinerator having a variable speed auger to continuously feed refuse into and through a combustion chamber and into a water filled ash receptacle. Preheated combustion air is supplied through tangential openings in and along the combustion chamber walls, with the hottest air supplied at the combustion chamber inlet. The auger has a water cooled hollow shaft and a heat resistant flight concentrically spaced away from the auger shaft by support members. The pitch of the auger flight gradually decreases from the inlet end to the discharge end of the combustion chamber. The exhaust gases pass through heat exchangers and dust collectors before being emitted from the incinerator. A portion of the exhaust gas is recirculated by a blower to an air curtain in the front of the inlet unit to preheat the entering refuse.