VIDEO: Crows in Sweden Being Trained to Collect Cigarette Butts

A Swedish company, Corvid Cleaning, has launched a program to develop the skill of cleaning urban streets from small litter by training crows. The birds will collect cigarette butts and place them into a special automated device in exchange for food. This was reported by the publication Dagens Nyheter.

The first city where this unusual project will be implemented is Södertälje, located not far from Stockholm.

“Crows are easy to train, and there is a high likelihood that they will learn from each other,” said the company’s founder, Kristina Gunter-Hansen.

According to preliminary estimates, local authorities could reduce street cleaning costs by 75 percent.

Corvid Cleaning reports that more than 1 billion cigarette butts are thrown on Sweden's streets each year, accounting for 62 percent of all litter.