Every year, the state of Florida throws out nearly 400,000 tons of tomato waste.

A group of researchers at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology has found a way to treat the problematic waste and turn it into something useful: electricity.

How does a tomato become power? The researchers have developed a special microbial fuel cell to process the waste and turn it into electricity. It uses bacteria to break down the organic material in the tomato waste, oxidizing it and generating an electrical charge. The process also neutralizes the waste so that it no longer emits greenhouse gases.

As a waste water treatment or a renewable energy source, the concept wouldn't have much appeal. But accomplishing both things at once could make tomato power a viable option for agricultural communities like Immokalee, the tomato farming community in Florida that produces the bulk of the state's tomato waste.

Read more on CNN.