with reference to fig1 there is shown a housing 10 of a first embodiment of the invention having , therein , an input opening 12 and a chute - like output opening 14 . with reference to fig2 a number of the interior mechanical components are shown in schematic view . more particularly , at the bottom of the chute of opening 12 is shown a vessel which is in the nature of an elongated drum 16 shown in greater detail in fig3 and 4 . in fig3 it may be seen that vessel 16 is axially mounted upon axles 18 and 20 to the interior walls of housing 10 and , through the use of motor 22 , may be rotated when it is entirely sealed . drum 16 is shown in radial cross - sectional in views fig4 a thru 4c . therein it may be noted that drum 16 includes of an inner drum 24 and an outer drum 26 . each of said drums are provided with separate longitudinal openings 28 and 30 respectively which openings must be opened to load drum 24 and both of which must be opened to release contents thereof in the manner shown in fig4 c . openings 28 and 30 are closed prior to disinfecting of the contents thereof . this disinfecting occurs after a quantity of water from outlet 31 , has filled the lower two or three inches of drum 24 , after medical waste 32 has past through openings 28 and 30 of drums 24 and 26 . it is noted that inner drum 24 is surrounded by a spiral of resistance heating elements 34 . the function of these elements is to heat the surface of inner drum 24 to a temperature in excess of 300 degrees f . such that the interior of inner drum 24 will function in a manner analogous to that of a pressure cooker , that is , the containment of superheated gas which is indicated by dots 36 in fig4 b . the superheated gas will completely permeate medical waste 32 such that the heat values within inner drum 24 will extend to every pore and granule of the waste . also , in the event that there are aerosol - containing capsules within waste 32 , such containers will quickly burst within inner drum 24 and the contents thereof will be rapidly disinfected by the pressure and heat of the superheated steam within the inner drum 24 . after a period of about fifteen minutes the resistance heating elements 34 on the surface of inner drum 24 are turned - off . thereupon the inner and outer drum is rotated per fig4 b . it is noted that fins 40 are provided upon the external surface of inner drum 24 such that when the drum is are rotated in the direction indicated by arrow 42 a maximum cooling effect will be imparted to both drums . holes 43 are provided in outer drum 26 to facilitate escape of heat . after the temperature within inner drum 24 has fallen below 100 degrees f ., the doors 28 and 30 of the respective drums will be oriented downward in the manner shown in fig4 c . this will enable the disinfected waste 32 to be dropped downwardly into a matrix 44 of cylindrical grinding elements . the use of a plurality of grinding elements assures that no part of the waste will escape disintegration and , as well , thermal values will be further dispersed during the grinding process . it is to be appreciated that the surfaces of the elements in matrix 44 will possess a variety of configurations such that grinding of maximum efficiency of a broad range of configurations of medical waste will be efficiently accomplished . that is , small grinding surfaces are necessary to grind small items such as hypodermic needles , while larger grinding surfaces are necessary to grind materials having larger dimensions , such as cans or canisters . accordingly , the top level of grinding element many possess a larger dimension surfaces , the second level somewhat smaller dimension grinding surfaces , and the lowest level of grinding matrix 44 the smallest gauge grinding capability . ground medical material is discharged from grinding matrix 44 into compartment 46 of a &# 34 ; lazy susan &# 34 ; type of receiving means 48 which is shown in top view in fig6 . therein it may be noted that the material from compartment 44 is then advanced in direction 50 into exposure to a plurality of microwave elements 52 . while each compartment 46 is moving from the position shown at the right of fig6 to the position at the left of fig6 a mist of water that is , water vapor is sprayed thru conduit 53 upon the waste to assure that the microwaving will thoroughly and uniformly penetrate the waste 32 . in fig2 there is shown , about microwave elements 52 , microwave insulation 54 which assures that radiation will not escape from the housing 10 . the effect of the microwaving is to expose the waste to a temperature of about 275 degrees fahrenheit for a period of at least thirty minutes . accordingly , disinfecting occurs both at the beginning and end of the present system such that any pathogens or other infectious material not neutralized at the input step are neutralized at the output step of the system . after microwaving is accomplished the bottom of lazy susan receiving means 48 opens so that the processed waste will drop down chute 56 to output opening 14 . it is to be noted that , followed the microwaving step , use may be made of known state of the art compacting and / or encapsulating means ( see background of the invention ) to assure that the medical waste , even after processed , cannot be touched by a medical worker , notwithstanding the fact that after processing in accordance with the present system , there is no necessity to treat the processed waste in any fashion different from that of ordinary residential trash . therefore , output 14 will typically include a thick gauge plastic bag , e . g ., one of five mils such that the output from lazy susan means 46 will be effectively deposited into a bag that a hospital waste disposal worker need do nothing more to than close . it is noted that area 58 ( see fig2 ) is reserved for control electronics of the system . a second embodiment of the present inventive means is shown in fig7 thru 10 . this system differs from the above described embodiments of fig1 thru 6 in that it is adapted for larger quantity applications , such as a hospital site , as opposed to within a doctor &# 39 ; s office . in this embodiment , the medical waste , after the superheating step involving drums 24 and 26 , is dropped onto a conveyor belt 160 and , therefrom , into grinding matrix 144 . in the same fashion as in the initially described embodiment , the output of grinding matrix 144 will drop into a first compartment 146 ( see fig1 ) of lazy susan means 148 and , thereafter , will be exposed , at the right side thereof to microwave means 152 . it is noted that grinding matrix 144 , lazy susan means 148 and microwave assembly 152 differ from that of the first embodiment only in physical dimension . the output of the microwave material is then dropped onto a second conveyor belt means 162 and , therefrom , to output 114 . compaction means will typically be combined with the output area 114 in the system of the embodiment of fig7 thru 10 in that larger volumes of materials are contemplated . it is to be appreciated that the second embodiment of the invention described above may be upsized indefinitely as , for example , where off - site medical waste disposal and disinfection are desired . it has been found that by providing disinfection functions at both the input of all embodiments of the present system , even the most hearty of pathogens will be neutralized . no known pathogens can withstand an operating temperature of more than 270 degrees fahrenheit which is achieved at both beginning and end of the system . it is also noted that , at all potential interfaces with the external environment , the embodiments of the instant system are provided with so - called hepa - filters to eliminate any potential , however remote , that may exist for the airborne transmission of pathogens from the system . it is also noted that the above described system responds to a limitation in prior art microwave approaches to medical waste processing by providing a pathogen neutralizing capability prior to the grinding step such that no mechanical manipulation or disruption of material occurs prior to grinding . further , in the event that aerosols are contained within particular load of medical waste , there is provided a thick gauge superheating drum 24 such that even the explosion of an aerosol canister would have no effect on the mechanical integrity of the drum 24 . no known prior art approach accounts for the possibility of the explosion of an aerosol during the treatment thereof with , thereby , the potential for airborne release of pathogens . accordingly , while there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of the present invention ( the embodiment of fig1 thru 6 ), it to be appreciated that the invention may be practiced otherwise that is herein specifically shown and described and that , within such embodiment , certain changes may be made in the form and arrangement of the parts without departing from the underlying idea or principles of this invention , within the scope of the claims appended herewith .