NOVELTY - A waste treatment apparatus for the microbial treatment of waste (7), comprises at least one reactor vessel (12) for containing waste; waste feed unit adapted to feed untreated waste into the vessel; microbial feed unit adapted, in use, to feed micro-organisms (48) into the waste; aeration device (28) adapted to aerate the waste in the vessel; and waste outlet (5) adapted to remove treated waste from the vessel. The microbial feed unit comprises a culture vessel, a dosing unit (20) and a timer.    USE - For microbial treatment of waste and wastewater, such as a commercial or industrial waste stream, for example, those from the food processing industry; abattoirs; the oil industry; landfill leachate; agricultural residues; and the chemical industry, wastewater, effluent and/or waste sewage etc, organic matter, or urban sewage (claimed).    ADVANTAGE - The apparatus occupies much less space than traditional biological systems. The Natural Endogenous Respiration Vessel (NERV) reactor allows contact stabilization (flocculation of biomass) to take place in one vessel rather than in two (as in the prior art), and with much greater efficiency. This is made possible by the array of air diffuser systems, which maintain the organic waste particles in the upper sections of the reactor such that bio-flocculations can actively form. The oxygen concentrations are higher and metabolic degradation of the waste is therefore possible. The NERV reactor has been designed in such a way that it replaces the traditional concepts of using free breeding (i.e. freely evolving) bacteria as in existing methods. Unlike existing activated sludge methods used to treat effluent, the process does not rely on self-generating bacterial cultures, due to the bacterial dosing unit. Therefore, it will always have the correct and most efficient bacterial strains applied to the wastewater or organic waste. The process is able to handle a wide range of loading and flow rates within the same system. The process is particularly resilient to toxic shocks, and can recover quickly and automatically should a toxic wipe out occur. The process is very simple to operate; and able to operate with a high level of automation with minimum operator attention. By allowing the Endogenous Respiration phase to be optimized, the system produces significantly less residual bio-sludge than traditional systems, thereby reducing the transportation and dumping of solid waste into the environment. In currently used methods, there is a requirement to maintain the bacterial culture, and increase the biomass concentration as much as possible as it is believed that this provides more biomass for degrading the waste. However, a consequence of this is that traditional urban waste-water treatment suffers from high sludge transportation and disposal costs. Hence, the use of the NERV process in this industry would dramatically reduce sludge disposal costs and overall sewage treatment costs. The NERV system allows the process of Contact Stabilization to take place in one reactor vessel. The process can be monitored and operated from remote locations allowing a centralized control room to oversee a large number of systems. The concept of activated sludge and the use of live sludge culture can still be used in the system. The advantage of the NERV process is the low solids levels produced compared to traditional biological treatment systems. The NERV process can be retro-fitted to existing wastewater treatment systems to improve their performance or to replace old, worn out and non-functioning parts. By controlling the extent to which endogenous respiration occurs within the reactor vessel by stopping further feeding of untreated waste and removal of treated waste, it is possible to control the concentration of biomass in the vessel, which is then produced as sludge. Accordingly, by controlling the endogenous respiration phase in the reactor vessel, it is possible to cause a substantial reduction in the concentration of solid particles discharged from the reactor vessel, and hence, the treatment process in apparatus. This is a major advantage over existing activated sludge processes in which large volumes of sludge are produced, and which require disposal. The reactor allows the bacteria to enter into an endogenous respiration phase, such that less sludge is produced as a waste product of the process. Hence, there is less burden on the sludge removal device. In addition, costs associated with depositing any sludge are significantly reduced compared to those incurred in existing systems. The apparatus efficiently treats the wastewater with significant reduction in sludge volumes down from 15 tones per week to 5 tones per week. The apparatus showed a reduction of incoming CODs from 80000 - 3000 mg/l with a total sludge production of 5 tones per week, which equates to a COD reduction of 96.25%. The treatment method requires much less chemical flocculant enhancer. The treatment process using the apparatus offers a small footprint process at far less cost than conventional remedies.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - An INDEPENDENT CLAIM is included for microbial treatment of waste involving feeding untreated waste into at least one reactor vessel via waste feed unit; feeding micro-organisms into the waste via microbial feed unit; aerating waste in the vessel via aeration device; and removing treated waste from the vessel via waste outlet.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure shows a schematic side view of a reactor.    waste (7)    reactor vessel (12)    dosing unit (20)    air diffuser systems (28)    microorganisms. (48)