Clutching a plastic bag, Arlene Barclay scans the sand which stretches along the coast of Aberdeen, picking up pieces of rubbish discarded by visitors and washed up on the shoreline.

"It's disgusting," the 43-year-old artist says.

"There was one day I spent six hours cleaning it, kids straws and lighters and earplugs.

"It's like a landfill getting washed ashore."

Arlene has been cleaning the city's six kilometre stretch of beach for around four years, black bin bags piling up as she attempts to rid the public space of anything harmful to the environment.

Yet amongst the rubbish are Arlene's "jewels" as she calls them, plastic bottle tops discarded by their users in all manner of colours.

Taking them back to her home, she carefully begins the process of washing, melting, twisting and forming the malleable plastic into marbled beads.

"They're almost like glass work when you start making them," she says.

Each bead which features in her jewellery takes Arlene half an hour to make, the time consuming task is something she taught herself to do.

"You've got to melt it down first, you've got to mould it into colours that you want, then you have to remelt it and twirl it round into an actual bead shape the you have to melt it again - you have around three to four goes of it before it actually resembles a bead," she explains.

The intricate pieces of artwork, transforming discarded rubbish into something beautiful, has formed part of Arlene's new collection named Ocean, attaching the beads to sterling silver chains to create bracelets and necklaces.

Alongside Bee, which features delicate honeycomb and bee charms hanging from silver necklaces, Arlene's nature inspired jewellery is part of a new environmentally friendly range she plans to sell with profits going to appropriate charities for each collection.

Her jewellery packaged in recycled and eco-friendly boxes, Bee will profit the UK Bee Conservation and she hopes Ocean can benefit The Ocean Clean Up.

Ideas for Ice and Nature are also in the works, with Arlene scoping out charities which tackle deforestation and protect Antarctica.

Planning to launch the collection in August, Arlene has come a long way since initially pitching the idea at the Ideas Britain competition five years ago, where she came third.

Disheartened, she threw herself into her millinery business House of Halos, which she began after teaching herself how to create jewellery for friends aged just 15 with no formal training.

While Arlene's outlandish headpieces have made her well known in the north-east and have been worn by Perrie Edwards of Little Mix, Emeli Sande and cast members of The Only Way is Essex, she says she finds it difficult to keep the business afloat, pouring hours into her creations for the joy of it.

In 2017, Arlene almost gave up her millinery and jewellery business, feeling disillusioned by the fashion industry.

Yet just weeks after announcing to her friends that it would take "something major to happen if it's meant to be", Scots actress Carly Steel wore a headpiece by Arlene dripping with jewels to the prestigious Met Gala.

Seeing her creation on the red carpet was a "crazy and surreal" experience for the artist and since then, she has found a mentor from the Scottish Chamber of Commerce who encouraged her to return to her environmentally friendly range of jewellery.

"She has just been pushing me, telling me I was five years to early with my ideas and that everybody has now caught up with my crazy thinking.

"Back then I was just to get my head out the clouds."

Arlene believes that the popularity of programmes such as Blue Planet and campaigns such as The Final Straw means her collection will be more relevant when it launches on August 18 on the House of Halos website.

"I don't think my jewellery will cure anything but it all works like ants, if one person does something and another person does something we might get there in the end," she muses.

"'I'm hoping that House of Halos will become a big brand and in the next few years I will be handing over a hell of a donation to charities each year.

"I've got big dreams," she adds.