A melter for the vitrification of waste, and method of using the melter, in the form of a disposal canister, wherein the melter is capable of filling multiple disposal canisters of waste and subsequently of being filled with vitrified waste and disposed of in like manner to that of a disposal canister. In the method of the invention, while waste is loaded into the melter, it is melted and then allowed to flow out of the melter and into a disposal container. The filled disposal container is then removed and and replaced with an empty disposal container. This is repeated until a fixed number of disposal containers are filled. Then, the melter is filled with vitrified waste and disposed of in the same manner as for a disposal canister.