Driven by EU legislation, the UK Government has set challenging targets for recycling and recovery. To meet hese targets there is a clear requirement for the adoption of advanced technology that is cost effective within a sustainable waste management strategy. This requirement has been signalled up by the DEFRA, WRRAG Research and development Strategy and the New Technologies Programme, where heavy emphasis is placed up making a clear economic business case for each technology. This research is based on a case study with an Material Recovery Facility (MRF) and outlines the data requirement to make an unambiguous business case to aid decision making.