A Melbourne, Australia crafter creates these beautiful rainbows from plastic pollution she collects at local beaches.

Crafter Liz of Betty Jo Designs creates clocks and jewelry from recycled, vintage linoleum. She was taking a walk along her favorite beach when she "noticed alot of washed up plastic rubbish. I started picking it up and ended up with a bagful." You can see from Liz's other work that she's got at thing for rainbows, so it seems natural that she'd turn the plastic pollution she was collecting into rainbow art.

I love that these Rubbish Rainbows make a strong statement about plastic pollution in a memorable but whimsical way. You come away with a clear message about single use plastic without feeling like you've been hit over the head. That's a tricky line to toe!

Liz isn't new to found object art. She's been creating collages with upcycled materials for years, and even sells them in her Etsy shop along with her upcycled jewelry and greeting cards.

Liz was kind enough to talk a bit about what inspires her and what happens to those plastic rainbows after she photographs them:

The inner city beaches of Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay are covered in washed up plastic waste especially after a storm when all the rubbish is washed down the drains, into the bay and onto the beach.

After I photograph the plastic I save it in case I want to use it for other creations. I have bags and containers full in my studio. The dilemma is once it's out of the waterways it would need to be sent to landfill, which is another environmental problem in it's self.

There's something empowering about seeing trash transformed into art pieces. Doesn't it make you want to get outside and pick up some litter of your own to craft with?

Our pals at Treehugger have a nice piece about Rubbish Rainbows, too, if you want to read even more about them!