This Sweden-based start-up is training wild crows to pick up cigarette butts to combat urban pollution

A Swedish start-up, Corvid Cleaning, is recruiting an unlikely workforce, wild crows, to combat urban pollution.

The pilot project, launched in partnership with the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation, trains crows to collect discarded cigarette butts from city streets, an initiative already proving both effective and economically promising.

Why have crows been "recruited"?

Crows, renowned for their exceptional intelligence, are at the centre of this innovative system. Known for solving complex puzzles, using tools, and even recognising human faces, the birds are uniquely suited for the task.

Project lead and inventor Christian Günther-Hanssen emphasises that the birds are active participants rather than controlled subjects. “They are participating on their own terms, because the reward system makes sense to them,” he explains.

The project uses a specialised machine that detects when a crow drops a cigarette butt into its opening. If the item qualifies as litter, the machine immediately releases a food reward.

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How could this become a global eco-solution?

The initiative addresses one of the world’s most persistent littering problems. An estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are discarded globally every year.

Laden with microplastics and toxic chemicals, cigarette filters consistently top the lists of items collected during city and coastal clean-ups.

Early data suggests the crow-led clean-up could slash Sweden’s litter management expenses by as much as 75 per cent annually. 

Researchers note that crows learn rapidly, adapt seamlessly to urban environments, and require minimal training thanks to their natural curiosity and independent behaviour—traits that could make this one of the cheapest waste-management solutions globally.

The experiment has already drawn international attention, with other cities watching closely as Sweden’s “crow squad” demonstrates the potential of nature-based innovation. 

Source: Günther-Hanssen, C. (2022). Corvid Cleaning: Using wild crows to collect cigarette butt waste in Sweden. Journal of Environmental Innovation, 1, 45-53.

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