The council runs the Waste Warriors initiative to reduce food waste in primary schools, educating pupils on sustainability while at the same time significantly lowering both general and food waste.

And it has been so successful that it has now received credit at a national level, winning the Catering category at the APSE Soft FM Innovation Awards.

Councillor Robert Brown, the council’s Chair of Community and Enterprise Resources, said: “This has been a hugely successful initiative and it is justifiably receiving UK-wide recognition.

“It not only reduces waste levels now but, even more importantly, it is recruiting young people to the cause, letting them take the message right through their own lives and also passing it on to others.”

APSE (the Association for Public Service Excellence) is a not-for-profit local government body working with over 300 councils throughout the UK to promoting excellence in public services.

Speaking about the Innovation Awards, APSE Chief Executive Mo Baines, said, "After a challenging few years for catering and cleaning services, it was fantastic to see so many impressive submissions.

“To the winners, your inventiveness in the face of such difficulties is simply outstanding."

South Lanarkshire Council was also shortlisted as a finalist in the Cleaning category for Project Henry, which upcycles old vacuum bases to be used in nurseries to let the children grow plants and flowers.