TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CHEMICAL ENGINEERING - Preferred Method: Material may be fed onto the carousel as loose bulk material. The waste is transported around the continuous path on 2-5 occasions. The velocity of the waste around the continuous path can be varied or reversed at will. The method includes adding catalyst to the waste prior to the application of microwave energy, introducing a controlled amount of water before the application of microwave energy for conversion to steam and to displace air from the closed airtight container through valve, introducing a controlled amount of water before the application of microwave energy so that steam combined with carbon may be reformed into hydrogen and carbon monoxide, and lining containers for the waste with a substance that absorbs microwaves to enable early charring of waste that does not initially absorb microwaves and will not heat up on its own. Different processes are applied to the waste by pyrolysis during earlier and later steps of transportation around the continuous path.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Preferred Components: The control mechanism is arranged to control the number of rotations to 1-5. The carousel is wholly within the closed airtight container. The waste is carried on open tray(s) on the carousel or in closed crucible(s) (6) on the carousel with provision to allow the escape of gas/vapor from the crucible(s) into the closed airtight container. The individual crucibles are penetrable by microwaves to contain waste to be transported around the continuous path and comprise individual closed containers. An individual crucible has a specific window portion which is penetrable by microwaves. An airlock (5a, 5b) is arranged for introduction of crucibles into or removal of crucibles from the carousel. The apparatus includes a gas/vapor recovery mechanism to recover gas/vapor generated by pyrolysis of waste within the closed airtight container, equipment to generate usable energy from the recovered gas, equipment to recover usable energy from the solid matter removed and/or liquid extracted from the closed airtight container, and a provision for water to be introduced into the closed airtight container, where an initial phase of microwave heating may generate steam to displace air from within the closed airtight container, or may reform steam to hydrogen and carbon monoxide within the closed airtight container). Provision to locate more than one item of auxiliary equipment around the perimeter of the container adjacent to the continuous path is provided, and attachments for all such items of auxiliary equipment are identical.