Patent ID: 8771596

Claim:
A method for sterilizing infectious waste comprising the steps of: adding water in a pressure vessel containing infectious waste material including a combination of tissue and other material to form a pH neutral waste combination of tissue and other material; heating the pH neutral water combination of tissue and other material by externally bringing a temperature of the vessel interior chamber to a range of about 250 to 308 degrees F. at a pressure in the vessel interior chamber in a range of about 0 to 60 psig; maintaining the temperature of and pressure in the vessel interior chamber for a time period of about 0 to 4 hours to raise the actual temperature of the pH neutral water combination of tissue and other material, effectively degrading and softening the infectious waste material, and maintaining the pH neutral water combination of tissue and other material at a pH of approximately 7; and size reducing the infectious waste material in the pH neutral water combination of tissue and other material with an agitator producing a non-caustic mixture of the tissue and other material.