Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation has introduced a pilot project called “Corvid Cleaning” that aims to stop litter by using crows, one of the most intelligent birds in the avian kingdom, which have the ability to learn and adapt. These clever animals are being trained to pick up cigarette butts and other rubbish on city streets for small food rewards.
“Corvid Cleaning” is a pilot project that uses a machine which can distinguish between rubbish and natural things like leaves. The bird gets its food after putting the butt of the cigarette into the machine. The founder, Christian Günther-Hanssen, maintains that these birds do it out of their own free will as he believes this innovative approach could considerably reduce street cleaning costs for the city.
Cigarette butts are the most common form of plastic waste in our environment today, with approximately 4.5 trillion butts littered worldwide. It costs around 20 million Swedish krona (about $2.2 million) per year just to keep streets clean in Sweden alone. Reducing these expenses by 75% or more through this crow-powered cleanup would be predicted by Günther-Hanssen.
If it works out well, this pilot project in which crows become custodians of the streets could save around £1.6m per annum. As a result other cities may follow suit with similar green initiatives that are budget-friendly meaning even insects can help defeat pollution once and for all
