Parks and Reserves Port Lincoln member John Hunwick said the charcoal could be used to retain soil nutrients and in turn give farmers the satisfaction of putting in more nutrients than they take out of the soil when growing a crop.

Biochar is made from slowly heating organic matter with lack of oxygen and it can then be broken down and spread on paddocks to retain carbon in the soil and reduce the need for non-organic fertilisers.

Mr Hunwick said using biochar was one way or restoring the nutrients into the soil besides crop rotation or adding fertiliser.

It has the ability to help in retaining the nutrients and allowed the nutrients to be gradually released, without leeching, which in turn improved soil fertility, he said.

"With the present concern for climate change, anything that can be used to hold on to it (nutrients) for any significant length of time is exactly what we want."

"If we can put something back in to the soil that retains carbon for a good length of time than it's a double winner.

"Not only is it improving food quality but it increases the quality of soil as it takes the carbon out of the atmosphere and in to the soil."

Mr Hunwick said if there was a local biochar production mechanism, which could be sited at the recycling depot, it would benefit people who wanted to get rid of green waste.

He suggested when large areas of trees or scrub are cleared, like the area at the Pines Reserve on Flinders Highway, it could be used to make biochar instead of just being burnt.

"It's the sort of step a community concerned about farming and the quality of its soils should support," he said.