A section to delineate ‘waste heat recovery’ has been written to contribute for the ASME Power Plant Cooling Specification/Decision-making Guide to be published in 2013. This paper informs tentative contents for the section on how to beneficially apply waste heat and water recovery technology into power plants. This paper describes waste heat recovery in power plant, current/innovative technologies, specifications, case study, combined cycle, thermal benefits, effects on system efficiency, economic and exergetic benefits. It also outlines water recovery technologies, benefits in fresh water consumptions, reducing acids emission, additional cooling effects, economic analysis and critical considerations.