<p>The current utilization of wheat dust (WD) and hexane-extracted rapeseed scrap (RS) in Central Europe is inefficient and non-ecological. Therefore, it is necessary to identify an appropriate waste treatment that supports the principles of the circular economy. For this reason, the aforementioned wastes were pyrolyzed, resulting in the production of biochars, which are commonly used as absorbents or soil amendments. These biochars were then steam activated, characterized, and evaluated for potential further suitable and sustainable utilization. The structure, porosity, specific surface area, and composition of bound functional groups, nutrients, toxic elements, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and pH were analyzed as important parameters for biochar applications. RS biochar contained high concentrations of nutrients (N 75.9, P 21.5, K 15.1, C 603, Ca 14.3, Mg 8.31, S 5.40&#xa0;g·kg⁻¹ wt. all). The CEC was remarkably high 87.0 cmol·kg⁻¹ for the RS biochar. The SSA value increased in fivefold in both samples upon activation (11.0 m²·g⁻¹ for WD biochar and 0.8 m²·g⁻¹ for RS biochar). The pore depth increased in accordance with activation temperature. Alkanes, aromatics, and oxygenated groups were detected on the biochars surfaces, yet more evident in WD. WD biochar could be used as an adsorbent for organic pollutants because its structure, surface area, and representation of functional group predict high adsorption efficiency, especially after activation. Raw RS biochar is more suited to utilization as a soil amendment, due to its high concentration of nutrients. These utilizations of biochar support the circular economy, eliminate pollution, improve soil properties, and reduce the need for industrially produced fertilizers and sorbents.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>