TACKLE PLASTIC WASTE, ONE NAIL AT A TIME

Before global leaders take the problem of plastic pollution into their hands in November, Japanese manicurist Naomi Arimoto is putting it on her fingernails.

False nails with decorative elements made from plastic waste (top, above and left) are fitted onto customers' fingers and displayed at the nail salon of Japanese manicurist Naomi Arimoto.

At the beach near her home south of Tokyo, Ms Arimoto carefully sifts sand for tiny bits of plastic that she can mould into decorative tips to put on the artificial nails at her salon. She came up with the idea after taking part in community clean-ups along the coast.

"I became aware of environmental issues the moment I saw with my own eyes just how much plastic waste was in the ocean," says the 42-year-old. "I thought it was horrifying."

An estimated 20 million tonnes of plastic waste is dumped into the environment each year, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.