Meet Don Bates | Chief Litter Gitter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Don Bates and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Don, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Freedom to pursue ideas on my terms. I was a Senior Executive with a great company that was very entrepreneurial in many ways but several ideas that I had developed did not fit what they offered. I wanted to be able to move at the speed of my initiative and personal goals.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We specialize in adaptable solutions in removing litter from our waterways. Our initial concept, the Litter Gitter, is a small stream litter trap that captures litter closer to the litter source. From our initial concept, we have added multiple products and now have become litter consultants. Our best projects start with assessing litter source and age, then designing the best plan to remedy the issue. We also support recycling initiatives and are able to recycle 30% of the material we remove from the environment. We are the only company that actually services our equipment. I just love our team. Our average age of employee is probably 25. Everyone has to work in the field, regardless of their regular job duties. It really impresses our clients that our Senior Project Manager, Business Development Leader and Office Administrator all have their own hip boots and spend time in the water. We have part-timers that may only work a semester or two for us, but the leave as Ambassadors for Conservation. We are still a start-up.. Initial concept was started in November 2016. I left my job in April 2019. We are still in start-up phase; however, I think we have worked in 14 states with projects planned in Mexico and Canada. The biggest challenges to our company are cash flow with growth and dealing with setting up in new states/countries. Every state is different and almost impossible to keep track of all of the rules and reporting requirements. We use a payroll company to keep track of all of the labor rules. We organize our business in to 4 sectors – Administrative, Project Management, Project Delivery and Business Development. Whether you are 2 people or 2000 people, those 4 sectors demand attention or there will be issues down the line. We are quickly transforming in to a problem solving operation built on process, this is brining a myriad of opportunities our way.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Osprey’s spiritual home is the swamps of my childhood in Manchac, Louisiana. Literally 25 miles from New Orleans, Louisiana, the Bates camp was 5 miles from the nearest road and only accessible by boat. My dad’s rule was you could go anywhere your hip boots or pirogue could take you. To be honest, after reading an old book i found in a box, I found Hemingway’s Green Hills of Africa to be lacking in comparison to the acres of marsh we played in. I love taking people to my swamp and showing them nature up close and personal and coming back to the Galva Club and boiling blue crabs my 80 year old Uncle Charles caught that morning.

Our actual home is Mobile, Alabama, and you would get pretty much the same treatment. We typically take folks to areas where we are working and show them that the attack on litter s winnable with the right plan and effort. This usually involves a mud boat trip in Three Mile Creek or Dog River. These rivers are in the shadow of downtown Mobile yet they are green oases where you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere and miles away from the nearest person. If you are lucky, we may have time to hit up Taqueria Mexico for lunch.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My wife, Greta, who totally supported my decision to leave a a great career to start Osprey Initiative. Our team who makes us better them the sum of our equals. My family and the childhood they supported that fostered a sense of adventure and freedom. The company I left after 19 years that gave me the opportunity to start an office and grow into an executive.

Website: www.osprey.world

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