Abstract: Systems and processes for pyrolyzing waste plastics, including, in one or more heating stages, heating a waste plastic from an initial temperature to a peak pyrolysis temperature, and, in a final pyrolysis stage, providing heat input sufficient to maintain a temperature of the waste plastic at a pyrolysis reaction temperature less than the peak pyrolysis temperature and maintaining the waste plastic at the pyrolysis reaction temperature for a time period to convert a portion of the waste plastic to a pyrolyzed product and a pitch. The process further includes recovering the pyrolyzed product and recovering the pitch.