Litter Gitters deployed in Bay Area waterways to remove trash

The Osprey Initiative team are carrying the metal Litter Gitter to the water to install and catch floating litter.

TAMPA, Fla. – A new device being deployed into area waterways could help to remove trash and protect the environment.  The Tampa Bay Estuary Program and other local environmental groups are working with Osprey Initiative to install the first Litter Gitters in the Tampa Bay area. The device works as a trash trap to intercept litter and funnel […]

Osprey adds three new Litter Gitter sites in Florida

Osprey Initiative is proud to announce new Litter Gitter sites to capture floating litter in waterways. The Osprey team installed three new Litter Gitters in south Florida. These new trash traps can be found floating at Archie Creek, Clam Bayou, and 16th Avenue Canal. Each of these sites are made possible through the EPA Trash […]

Litter Gitter grabs 2,000-plus pounds in year

Tangipahoa Parish Government has signed a contract to continue funding a Litter Gitter in Ponchatoula Creek for another six months using grant funds. Over the past year, one Litter Gitter has collected 208 pounds of debris and 743 pounds of litter from Ponchatoula Creek, allowing 213 pounds of litter to be recycled and another 530 […]

Volunteers hit the water in Baldwin County for the 5th annual floating cleanup

BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WPMI) — Volunteers gathered in Baldwin County Saturday for the South Alabama Land Trust’s fifth annual floating cleanup on Magnolia River near Week’s Bay. Volunteers from both Mobile and Baldwin counties took kayaks and canoes out onto the water to collect trash. “Picking up the trash, retrieving the trash, is certainly helpful from […]

More than 2,000 Pounds of Trash Collected in Charlotte Rivers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – About a year ago the city of Charlotte received a device to help collect trash from the rivers. A “Litter Gitter” is a floating collection device that helps stop trash from flowing further downriver. Once a week, the engagement manager for the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation, Greg Nance, comes out to the creeks […]

Osprey partners to serve in MLK Day of Service

Part of the trash and recycling gathered by volunteers and the Osprey Initiative team in 2020. Osprey Initiative is proud to serve again as a sponsor for the MLK Day of Service on Saturday, January 16, 2021. This event is spearheaded by Mobile United’s Natural Resources Committee. Once again, efforts will be focused on cleaning up […]

Litter Gitter installed in Trussville’s Pinchgut Creek

A new device has been installed in Pinchgut Creek, in Trussville, and the purpose is to help keep the waterway clean. The “Litter Gitter” is one of 10 across Jefferson County. The device in Trussville was funded by the Jefferson County Department of Health, which also funded a device in Brighton. The Litter Gitter will […]

Parish tackles uphill battle against litter

Keep Tangipahoa Beautiful and Osprey Initiative recently sponsored a litter cleanup in the Manchac area to tackle a place that continues to be treated like a dumping site. Eight volunteers, including Councilwomen Kim Coates and Brigette Delatte Hyde, picked up 135 bags of trash, a commode and a motor on the low road. “Overall it […]

Products with Purpose

Osprey merchandise is here! We’re excited to expand the Osprey Initiative product line to now include merchandise. You can now show your support for sustainable environmental solutions – by wearing it! This new line of wearable products includes favorites like our Osprey hat, featuring the Osprey logo patch and American flag on the side. We […]

Above the Waterline: Finding solutions to keep our waterways clean

Trash can be a galvanizing topic for most people, especially river and nature lovers. We are disgusted at the sight of the plastic bottles and bags, single-use products, Styrofoam, and balls of every sort that float in the water—moving from one riverbank to another on voyages downstream or sinking to the river bottom. Most of […]

Osprey featured on Conservation Coalition Podcast

The Conservation Coalition recently rolled into Mobile, AL to feature Osprey Initiative on their podcast, the Electric Election Roadtrip Podcast. This series of interviews focuses on showcasing local solutions to environmental issues that affect us all, regardless of your political affiliation or choice at the polls this year. These inspiring stories come from places you would […]

New litter traps keep plastic bags, bottles, diapers out of Birmingham waterways

At a massive culvert under 7th Street North in Birmingham, the underground springs flowing beneath the city’s downtown corridor emerge to see the light of day, becoming Valley Creek, a major tributary of the Black Warrior River. For years it was one of the most heavily littered spots in the city, as thousands of bottles, […]

Parish cleanup despite weather

TEAM EFFORT – Major trash was cleared from areas near Ponchatoula like the sites seen here thanks to an effort from DSLD Homes partnering with Keep Tangipahoa Beautiful. Photo by Ginger Tasetet. South Tangipahoa Parish got a little more beautiful Saturday. DSLD Homes and Keep Tangipahoa Beautiful worked together for the litter cleanup Saturday on […]

Parish installs second litter device

Waterway cleanup has become a focus in Tangipahoa Parish. Tangipahoa Parish Government installed its second Litter Gitter on Saturday. DSLD sponsored the installation of this device at Selsers Creek, where it will remain for 12 months, catching litter on the creek from all the tribulations from the Hammond Airport flowing south. The Litter Gitter, an […]

Give Five: Louisiana

The Osprey Initiative team was up bright and early for a Give Five project to tackle a litter hotspot in Ponchatoula Creek in Wadesboro, Louisiana. Give Five is Osprey’s commitment to giving back five percent of our gross revenues to cleanups for those interested in what we do and sites where we have Litter Gitters. […]

Preventing litter with the Trash Stash

We’re taking you behind-the-scenes to view our newest solution: the Trash Stash! These devices secure litter on any of your vehicles, whether it’s truck, boat, or bike. The best part? Each one is made by a member of the Osprey team AND 10% of the gross revenues fund future litter cleanups. Check out the video […]

Bham metro is now home to 7 “litter gitter” devices thanks to the Freshwater Land Trust and partners

Last week, the Freshwater Land Trust officially launched Project Litter Gitter, installing five new litter gitter devices in Birmingham (2), Bessemer Homewood and Vestavia Hills.    The project was made possible by a EPA’s Trash-Free Waters grant, that was recently awarded to Freshwater Land Trust and partners. Project Litter Gitter According to the Freshwater Land Trust, Litter gitters are in-stream […]

A new solution to litter: the Trash Stash

Introducing a new solution to litter on roadways At Osprey Initiative, we’re committed to not only removing litter from our waterways, but also finding sources of litter to develop sustainable solutions. We’re proud to offer the newest solution to preventing trash and debris from making it onto our roads and into nature. Every day, trash […]

Pure River Plastic Recycling Drop-Off

How much litter are we removing from our waters? See for yourself! We delivered over 40 super sacks of pure river plastic to the Mobile County Recycling Center to be baled and shipped to a specialty materials client in New Jersey. All of these bottles came straight out of rivers during our cleanups over the […]

Great Parks installs “Litter Gitter” to reduce waste in Winton Woods Lake

View video story here. SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKRC) – There is a new way to clean a popular local lake, and it has a pretty catchy name. Crews from Great Parks of Hamilton County and the Mill Creek Alliance installed the Litter Gitter on Winton Woods Lake. It will grab trash from the west fork […]

Homewood installs “litter gitter” in Griffin Brook

The City of Homewood installed a “litter gitter” device in Griffin Brook today near the intersection of Broadway Street and Redfern Street.   Homewood is working with Osprey Initiative, Freshwater Land Trust, and the Cahaba Riverkeeper to create a plan for cleaner local waterways.   Litter gitters are in-stream trash collection devices used to intercept floating litter from stormwater runoff. In addition to installing and […]

Give Five cleanup removes 3,000 pounds of trash

A recent cleanup led by Osprey Initiative’s field operations leader, Sam Eubanks, yielded over 3,000 pounds of trash removed from the Moody Canal drainage ditch in Homestead, Florida. The cleanup took place with two volunteers, once a week, over the course of four weeks and was part of the company’s Give Five program – a […]

Gittin’ litter: city installs in-stream trash collection device

A Litter Gitter, installed by the Fresh Water Land Trust, collects bottles and other debris that flows in a creek off 7th Street North in Birmingham on April 9. Photo by Erin Nelson. When it rains in the Birmingham-metro area, runoff flows into Homewood creeks and streams through the stormwater drains — including lots of […]

What is a Litter Gitter?

The Litter Gitter is more than a catchy name – it’s a device that’s changing the way we tackle the challenges posed by litter in our waters. When it rains, stormwater runoff flows into drains and pipes that feed into our creeks and lakes, carrying with it litter and other types of pollution that degrade […]

“Litter Gitter” on Birmingham’s Valley Creek captures over 148 pounds of trash

I don’t know about you, but nothing upsets me more than seeing trash in a creek.  Well, that’s all about to change thanks to a dynamic public-private partnership led by the Freshwater Land Trust. Litter Gitter According to the group, in December 2019, a business called the Osprey Initiative installed a Litter Gitter device at the headwaters of […]

Litter Walk Challenge – Printable PDF

How can you pass the time at home, while still practicing the current social distancing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)? A litter challenge scavenger hunt! Our team members and partners are known for going on litter walks and pickups, so we created this list to make neighborhood walks interactive and help keep […]

Data released from Litter Gitter pilot project

In December 2019, Osprey Initiative installed a Litter Gitter device at the headwaters of Valley Creek in downtown Birmingham as a pilot project. The adjustable device intercepts floating litter from stormwater runoff. We are excited to report the data from the three-month pilot period: December 5-31, 2019: A total of 37.98 pounds / 49.5 cubic feet of litter was removed, […]