Michelle, founder of Smartie Lids on the Beach, has always cleaned beaches, living in Cornwall so close to the beach, and having a love of nature. But after the storms of 2014 the beaches were covered in plastic, more than she had ever seen. Since then she cleans the beach at least twice a week, often with family and friends helping out.

Her colour wheels contain between 200 and 400 individual pieces of plastic that have all been collected – each one is unique as it depends on what she has found. She also collect flexible plastic that can be cut into shapes, usually depicting creatures which live in the sea. The sand, sea and sun do something amazing to plastic giving it a texture and patina that is truly beautiful.

Smartie Lids on the Beach art is the perfect way to get the message of marine debris across to people. It becomes a talking point, a story, a conversation starter. It allows the word to be spread.