Crows are once again showing their smarting , this fourth dimension putting theirextremelylongskillsetto employment helping the surroundings . The wild birds are being trained to pick up fag butt as part of a pilot project in Södertälje , near Stockholm , Sweden .

The new eco - warrior on the mental block will deposit the discarded buttocks and other small-scale pieces of litter into a machine , designed by Swedish startup Corvid Cleaning . In return for their efforts , they encounter a tasty kickshaw .

“ They ’re wild doll taking part on a voluntary basis , ” Christian Günther - Hanssen , the founder of Corvid Cleaning , tell Swedish newswireTT .

While doing their bit for the planet – and a bite – the bird are also save the metropolis a pretty penny .

The initiative could cut the current costs of picking up cigarette butts by at least 75 percent , Günther - Hanssen appraisal .

“ The estimate for the cost of picking up coffin nail goat today is around 80 öre [ $ 0.09 ] or more per butt butt , some say 2 kronor [ $ 0.22 ] . If the crow pick up cigaret butt , this would peradventure be 20 öre [ $ 0.022 ] per cigarette butt , ” Günther - Hanssen tell apart TT .

A disgraceful 1 billion fag butts are strewn on Sweden ’s streets each class – account for 62 percent of all litter , accord to theKeep Sweden Tidy Foundation . In Södertälje , 20 million kronor ( $ 2.1 million ) is spent on street scavenge each year .

insert the ground forces , or execution , of litter - picking crows , cerise picked for the task because of their ill-famed understanding .

“ 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 eat any rubbish , ” Günther - Hanssen say .

Crows canbuild and use tools , deform wire , utilize sticks , and evenunderstand zeroas a quantity . Not bad for a bird without a caw - llege academic degree ( meritless ) .

If their clear - up efforts in Södertälje are successful , it ’s go for the project could spread to the rest of the city , and perhaps the country .