A tonne of waste was removed from the Ljubljanica on Earth Day but the divers exploring the riverbed find the situation is improving as the pile of rubbish pulled out of the river is getting smaller by the year.

The weather was good and the water clear for the annual clean-up campaign, Miro Potočnik, head of the Vivera underwater activities association, told the STA.

About 40 divers plunged into the river to clean up the bed from Špica to the Triple Bridge. The dumped rubbish they collected was then lifted on to the Shoemaker's Bridge.

Looking at the pile, Potočnik observed that the trends are changing because there used to be more bicycles and this year scooters started to appear in the river.

Nevertheless, the trend is positive; eight years ago, four and a half tonnes of waste were brought out of the river. But Potočnik said a tonne pulled out this year "is still too much".

Apart from bicycles and scooters, other items that were recovered from the water included traffic signs, mobile phones and coins, as well as bottles and tin cans.

The people of Ljubljana and other towns and cities across the country took part in clean-up campaigns among several other events aimed at raising awareness about environmental risks to the planet.

On the occasion Greenpeace declared the results of its Climate Crime campaign in which Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković received the most online votes among five nominees whose actions and statements in the past year the NGO believes have shown they do not take climate change seriously.

Janković received 31.9% of the vote "for greenwashing in planning a climate-neutral Ljubljana". He was closely followed by fuel trader Petrol, which received 31.2% of the vote "for its record profits at a time of energy crisis".

Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek and Economy Minister Matjaž Han received 14.9% of the vote for the country's "investment in short-haul air routes" and National Assembly President Urška Klakočar Zupančič 13.7% for "flying to Vienna on a private jet".

Slovenia generated 16.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in carbon dioxide equivalent in 2021, down 9% on 2012, the Statistics Office reported ahead of Earth Day.

About six tonnes of GHG emissions are generated per capita each year, which is 0.4 tonnes less than the EU-27 average.

Slovenia generated 1.1 million tonnes of municipal waste or 518 kilos per resident in 2021, up 47% from 2012, but the amount of sorted waste rose from 46% to 74%.