a system for treating household municipal wastes , and recovering recyclable materials from the waste stream . the process includes feeding the substantially solid waste stream , comprising generally paper or pulp material , glass , metal , plastics , and other solid wastes , into a first vessel , containing heated water ; rotating the vessel to intermix the solid wastes with the water under a predetermined pressure ; subjecting the vessel containing the wetted materials to a vacuum so as to achieve a desired moisture content to the pulp materials preferably between 20 to 30 %; conveying the materials from the vessel to be separated into component parts ; providing a second treatment vessel for receiving the material in alternate use ; cycling the water from the first vessel into the second vessel so that the water in the system is in a closed loop system ; and routing the removed pulp material containing 20 to 25 % moisture for further use or disposal .