Cooplands Joins the Waves of Waste Beach Clean at Scarborough South Bay
On Sunday 22 March 2026, a group from Cooplands headed down to Scarborough South Bay to take part in Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Waves of Waste beach clean. Meeting at the RNLI Scarborough Lifeboat Station alongside other volunteers, the Cooplands team spent the morning working across the sand and shoreline collecting litter that had washed up or been left behind.
Thank you to our amazing team who took part:
- Michelle Nichol and her daughter, Ella
- Adam Watkinson and his children, Lilly & Harry
- Sofia Roe and her husband Phil Roe
- Holly Blackborrow
The result: 17kg of rubbish pulled from the beach in a single session. Plastics, silver foil, tangled fishing line, and the kind of everyday waste that ends up in the sea if nobody picks it up.
Cooplands has been part of Scarborough since 1885, when the first shop opened in the town. 141 years later, the coastline that shaped the business is still on the doorstep of the Scarborough bakery on Caxton Way. Looking after it felt like the obvious thing to do.
What Is the Waves of Waste Beach Clean?
Waves of Waste is Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s programme of organised beach cleans along the Yorkshire coast. The Scarborough South Bay cleans run monthly from March through November, coordinated by YWT’s Living Seas team. All equipment, including litter pickers, gloves, and bags, is provided. The events are free, and anyone can book a place through the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust website.
The meeting point is in front of the RNLI Scarborough Lifeboat Station on the South Bay foreshore. Each clean starts at 10am and typically lasts a couple of hours.
When the Cooplands team signed up for the March session, they joined a mix of local residents and other volunteers. It is exactly the kind of grassroots effort that makes a visible difference to the beaches the bakery has traded alongside for over a century.
Upcoming Scarborough South Bay Beach Clean Dates in 2026
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is running Waves of Waste cleans at Scarborough South Bay on the following Sundays, all starting at 10am:
- Sunday 19 April
- Sunday 17 May
- Sunday 28 June
- Sunday 26 July
- Sunday 23 August
- Sunday 13 September
- Sunday 25 October
- Sunday 15 November
Places are free but need to be booked in advance. Groups of five or more should contact YWT directly to arrange a separate session through their Wild Work Day programme, so that public places stay available for individual volunteers.
To book, visit the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust events page or email livingseas@ywt.org.uk.
Cooplands will be joining more of these cleans throughout the year and would encourage anyone local to sign up and get involved.
Why Beach Litter on the Yorkshire Coast Matters
Scarborough’s beaches are central to the town’s identity and its economy. The litter that accumulates, much of it carried in by tides rather than dropped by visitors, poses a direct threat to the marine wildlife along the North Sea coast if it is not regularly removed.
For a business like Cooplands that has been rooted in Scarborough since the Victorian era, the health of the coastline is not an abstract concern. The team walks past these beaches on the way to work. Customers sit on the sea wall eating sausage rolls with this view in front of them. Keeping it clean is personal.
Programmes like Waves of Waste make it possible for anyone to contribute, no experience needed. Turn up, get kitted out, and spend a morning doing something that makes a measurable difference.
How to Get Involved in Scarborough Beach Cleans
If you would like to join a future Scarborough South Bay beach clean, book through Yorkshire Wildlife Trust at ywt.org.uk or contact the Living Seas team at livingseas@ywt.org.uk or 01904 659570. Dress for the weather, wear sturdy footwear, and everything else is provided.
The South Bay beach is relatively flat and sandy with slipway access. A council pay and display car park is available at Scarborough Harbour.
Cooplands will share details of the next clean the team is attending on our social channels. If you spot us on the beach, come and say hello.
