First, waste is mixed with soil containing glass formers in a large container installed with electrodes (electrical conductors) suitable for heating the mixture. The container used is either underground (subsurface planar vitrification, or SPV) or above ground (in-container vitrification, or ICV). In both cases, the waste/soil mixture is loaded into the container and the heating processes begins when the electrodes are turned on. Due to spatial restrictions, the entire mixture cannot melt at the same time. The materials closest to the electrodes are melted first, and convection currents (movements of substances in a fluid) within the molten mixture continue to add more solid material into the molten material. After about 36-58 hours, all of the mixture is molten and the convection currents create homogeneity (equal distribution of components) within the resultant mixture.