Patent ID: 7699247

Claim:
A waste processing method comprising carrying out the following steps, in recited order: sealing infected waste inside a waste processing system; cutting the infected waste into pieces having cross sections no larger than one inch by one inch square, thereby exposing surfaces of the waste; and simultaneously: spraying the waste pieces with a disinfectant that kills pathogens on contact, thereby coating the waste pieces with disinfectant and disinfecting them; and agitating the waste pieces in the system by applying sufficient vacuum to the system to suck the waste pieces through the system, the vacuum creating a wind inside the system that sweeps up the waste pieces, suspends them in air, and keeps them separate from one another, thereby exposing substantially all surfaces of the waste pieces to the sprayed disinfectant; wherein the steps are carried out without adding heat to the waste processing system, without removing heat from the waste processing system, and without increasing pressure inside the waste processing system.