Recycling and solid material conversion apparatus

A grinding apparatus for reducing the size of waste material, comprising:

• a housing having an interior, an exterior, an inlet for introducing material into the interior, and an exit for expelling material from the interior, wherein the interior is defined by a front wall, a back wall, a pair of spaced apart side walls, a bottom grate and the inlet;
• a substantially cylindrical drum rotatably attached to the spaced apart side walls within the interior of the housing, wherein the drum further includes:
• a substantially cylindrical central section having spaced apart ends and a shaft means for rotating the drum about an axis, wherein the shaft means extends from the spaced apart ends along a vertical centerline of the central section;
• a plurality of spaced apart rings rigidly attached to the central section, wherein each ring has a planar surface, a circular periphery, and a plurality of holes spaced apart around the planar surface and axially aligned as between adjacent rings to form a plurality of transverse rows of apertures parallel to the central section, and
• a plurality of rods positioned within the plurality of apertures of adjacent rings and parallel to the central section;
• a plurality of cutting blocks, wherein each cutting block further comprises:
• a proximal end and a distal end, wherein each cutting block is rotatably attached at it proximal end to one of the plurality of rods in between adjacent rings, and
• removable tooth means operably positioned at the distal end of the block for reducing the size of waste material;
• drive means engageable with the shaft means for rotating the drum;
• airfoil means attached to the front wall in the interior of the housing and vertically aligned and positioned substantially parallel to the axis, whereby a static air curtain is established within the interior of the housing enabling air to be drawn into the housing through the inlet and expelled from the exit when the drive means rotates the drum.