Due to dramatic decrease of activity in the construction sector, the amount of construction waste decreased by as much as 58% in 2012, according to the Statistics Office.

A decline was registered also in waste from production activities - down 32% compared to 2011, while waste from service activities dipped by 27%.

Last year more than 5 million tonnes of waste were recovered, down 13% compared to 2011, and around 764,000 tonnes of waste were disposed, which is 33% less than in 2011.

Despite the large amount of recovered waste, 447,000 tonnes of waste were still landfilled. The figure is down 31% year-on-year but still stands above the EU average, the statisticians warned.

Separate collection of communal waste is apparently gaining traction - 46% of communal waste was collected separately, which is 6 percentage points more than in 2011.

The amount of recycled waste is also steadily increasing, but with only 32% waste recycled in Slovenia, the country is still far from the 2020 target of 50%, the Statistics Office said.