An apparatus for separating organics from a contaminated organics-inorganics waste stream comprising a hopper (2) to receive the contaminated organics-inorganics waste stream from different sources, and a conveyor (4) that feeds a vertical separator that separates the inorganics from the organics by creating a vortex effect within a perforated drum (7) by which the solid contaminants comprising paper, plastic, and/or metals are blown by air in a spiral pattern upwards and removed from the top of the vertical separator, while the organic fraction is removed from the bottom of the vertical separator, air motion is affected by means of an inner rotating paddle-drum (10) to which a multiplicity of inclined paddles (11) creating a twister effect are attached to its external surface, where fouling of the paddles by plastic wrappings or by long fibrous waste material is prevented by the addition of two or more chains (8) attached to the rotating paddle-drum (10) at the entry level of the feedstock, wherein the length of the chains (8) are greater than the radial dimension of paddles (11) but shorter than the radial distance between paddle-drum (10) and the perforated screening drum (7).