An experimental investigation on waste combustion characteristics of a mass burn incinerator is conducted in this study. Three different charging modes, including operator manipulation, periodic feeding, and temperature control, are taken into consideration. The results indicate that the burning characteristics in the combustion chambers are closely related to the operating modes. For the operator manipulation where the wastes are sent into the incinerator in two short periods, the entire temperature distribution of the primary combustion chamber can be partitioned into two parts, thereby yielding waste group combustion. Temperature oscillations in both the primary and secondary combustion chambers are characterized for the periodic feeding. However, because of the shorter charging period and smaller amount of waste, the burning interaction between the two chambers is initially weak and becomes notable in the final stage. When temperature control is performed, the burning oscillation of the primary combustion chamber is further amplified so the combustion interaction is drastic. These exhibitions are mainly caused by the competition between endothermic and exothermic reactions. The instantaneous heat exchange efficiency of the cyclone heat recovery system (CHRS) installed in the incineration system is also evaluated to obtain details of energy recovery behaviors. As a result, the efficiency tends to decrease linearly with increasing temperature of hot flue gas. This arises from the fact that heat loss from the gas to the environment is increased when the temperature of the former is higher, even though the temperature gradient across the cyclone is enlarged.