Abstract: A method for continuously treating unsorted municipal waste to produce a high quality, recycled humus, includes the steps of continuously transporting the waste to a liquid containing soaking tank and, en route, magnetically removing ferrous parts and screening out coarse parts beyond a predefined size, and depositing the remainder of the waste in a liquid containing soaking tank to form a slurry, while continuously skimming off floating matter and removing settled out heavy matter. Dried slurry is continuously subjected to thermomechanical treatment involving high mechanical pressure and high frictional and warping forces, so that the temperature thereof is increased substantially and the microorganism content thereof is changed, rendering the resultant material hygienic, practically germ-free, neutral in odor and loose, springy and full in structure. The resultant material is then heaped into piles for aerobic composting.