At the risk of sounding like Doc Brown from "Back to the Future," you (or, more likely, your business) now may be able to generate electricity from your garbage on site. CNET reports on the Green Energy Machine, or GEM, developed by IST Energy of Waltham, Mass. What looks like a shipping container with two stacks and an air-conditioner attached is actually a self-contained waste processor and generator capable of powering a 200,000-square-foot office building with more than 500 people.

By using gasification technology, the company says the unit produces considerably fewer emissions than traditional incineration. According to the company, the GEM is capable of handling all waste except glass and metal, and converting 95 percent of it to energy, with only 5 percent left over as an ash byproduct.