In April 2013, the amount of separated waste transported by Snaga reached 53.2% of the total.

Thus, for the first time, residents of Ljubljana have put more material into the receptacles for recycling than into the black containers for general rubbish.

This demonstrates that the decision by Snaga and the City of Ljubljana to fundamentally change the waste collection system was correct: in April this year a giant step was taken towards reaching the target of 70% of the overall amount of municipal waste transported being separated.

“The changes introduced between May 2012 and April 2013 in the area covered by Snaga have led to outstanding results. These derive from more diligent waste separation by our users, made possible by receptacles for packaging and paper on the doorstep, the reduced frequency of general rubbish collections as well as a good partnership with the media, who have made residents aware of every aspect of the changes, and kept Snaga informed about inadequacies and problems on the ground”, stated Snaga Director Janko Kramžar in his introduction.

In terms of the share of waste separated for recycling, Ljubljana is among the very best of European cities of comparable size. In the near future, Snaga expects even better results, as “we anticipate that in spring 2014 we will broaden the area covered by organic waste collections. We will include neighbourhoods in all ten local authorities where local residents will be able to put organic waste into brown containers”, forecast Advisor to the Director Igor Petek. Among plans for 2013 and 2014, Petek highlighted further expansion of domestic paper collection (this is currently only available in Ljubljana), the opening of a re-use centre, two new collection centres and consistent identification of violations and waste separation oversight campaigns. In addition, so that Snaga collects as much separated waste and as little general waste as possible, it is also important what they use for collection.

Therefore, Snaga has also showcased its waste collection trucks that run on natural gas, as the only municipal company in Slovenia that uses trucks running on the cleanest of fossil fuels. Furthermore, they are significantly quieter than diesel trucks and the fuel cost for natural gas vehicles is about 20% lower than diesel vehicles.
“We've been taking care for several years to ensure that our vehicles are as environmentally friendly as possible. For city centre cleaning, we use electric trucks and sweepers. Such vehicles have practically no harmful emissions and make no noise. More than 30 of Snaga's vehicles are fitted out for natural gas, thus, among other things, significantly reducing emissions of nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. A major advantage is also that with 30 vehicles running on natural gas, we save about €20,000 a year” said Assistant to the Director Stane Vodopivec.