In Sweden, wild crows are being trained to pick up cigarette butts as part of a pilot project in the municipality of Sodertalje, with the goal of keeping the environment clean. Another purpose of this initiative is to reduce the cost of rubbish collection. These birds are being used to gather cigarette butts from the streets and squares of a Swedish city as part of a cost-cutting programme.
Following the completion of the task, these wild birds will be rewarded with a modest bit of food. The birds will receive food for each cigarette they drop in a customised machine designed by a startup firm in Sodertalje, near Stockholm. The Swedish company ‘Corvid Cleaning’ believes that its technology might save the city money when it comes to cleaning undesired rubbish.
Furthermore, the company’s creator, Christian Gunther-Hanssen, stated that these crows may cut the city’s cigarette butt cleanup costs by 75 percent.
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As per the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation, every year, almost one billion cigarette butts are littered on Swedish streets, accounting for 62 percent of all waste. Sodertalje invests 20 million Swedish kronor (about Rs 16.21 crore) on street cleaning. This is a trial project in Sodertalje, with the possibility of spreading the operation throughout the city. Aside from that, the health of the birds remains the most significant aspect when it comes to the sort of rubbish involved.
According to studies, new Caledonian crows, who are part of the corvid family of birds, have the same level of intelligence as a seven-year-old human, making them the best birds for the job. ‘They are easier to teach and there is also a higher chance of them learning from each other. At the same time, there’s a lower risk of them mistakenly eating any rubbish’, Gunther-Hanssenas said.
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