Take a stroll along any British beach and the chances are that you’ll come across discarded plastic waste. But one woman has found an innovative new use for the plastic bottles from her local beach – by fashioning them into a dress.

Millie Margetts, from Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire, made the dress out of around 100 bottles, some picked up from her local beach and others from used bottles donated to her. It took around 20 hours to make and she collected the items over 10 weeks.

It is inspired by the fishermen in her family and the issue of plastic waste, which is one her stepdad, who is a fisherman, has concerns about. “My grandad Bob, he worked on the docks when he was 13 as a tackle boy, and then when he was old enough he worked at sea. This is about representing my family but also raising awareness,” she told HuffPost UK.

Margetts is a former Miss Grimsby and is a contestant for Miss England. She told HuffPost UK she made the dress as part of the contest’s eco challenge. 

She accessorised the front of the dress with seashells from the beach and made a headdress and bracelets from bottle caps. It’s also very heavy to wear, she says, but she’ll be showcasing it as the next stage of the competition in September.

Plastic waste in oceans are a huge problem. It is estimated that there could be over 250 million tonnes of the stuff in the ocean at any one time.