Some cities allow food waste to be put into the green bin – what happens next?

Some urban areas are encouraging householders to put food scraps into their green waste bin, which reduces landfill.

But what happens to your food waste once it leaves the curb?

And how can just a few composting facilities handle an entire city’s food scraps?

Cosmos Science journalist Jacinta Bowler travelled to a composting facility north of Adelaide to find out how it all works, and the science behind it.

You might be surprised to know just how bad the contamination problem is, and why it’s cost one company six million dollars and a one-of-a-kind machine to try and fix it.

Check out more Cosmos Science videos: Travelling to the Square Kilometre Array