A combustor for burning waste material includes a horizontally extended combustion chamber through which a mixture of waste material and air is introduced under pressure tangentially for establishing a vortical movement of the waste material, and is ignited during its vortical movement. A second discharge port extends for discharging from the chamber non-combustible waste material, to a separator which separates the discharged gases and solid material. A secondary air manifold supplies air through controlled dampers at portals positioned at intervals along the length of the chamber. An adjustable baffle is mounted internally on the flue adjacent its open end for deflecting outwardly toward the side wall any combustible material not yet destroyed. A recuperator is mounted externally to the chamber on the exhaust flue, supplying heated air used with primary air flow. Additionally, control means are provided for the use of sensors to monitor the chamber conditions.