Fabrice Monteiro travelled to the most polluted places in Africa and created terrifying characters who roamed their midst dressed in eerie debris. They are spirits, he says, on a mission to make humans change their ways. Informed by Africa’s environmental problems, Fabrice Monteiro’s photographs aim to highlight urgent ecological issues all over the world. His series “The Prophecy” is on show at Photo Basel 2017 until 18 June. (Photo by Fabrice Monteiro/Photo Basel 2017/Mariane Ibrahim Gallery/The Guardian)

A garbage collector looks for recyclable waste at a dump in Erbil, in Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdistan region, February 21, 2016. (Photo by Azad Lashkari/Reuters)

Rag pickers collect recyclable material at a garbage dump in New Delhi November 19, 2014. (Photo by Ahmad Masood/Reuters)

Created from nearly 4,000 pieces of metal scraps, Aslan (Turkish for Lion), is a recent sculpture by Istanbul-based artist Selçuk Yilmaz. The piece took nearly a year of work and involved hand-cutting and hammering of each individual metal piece

Dan surrounded by seven days of her own rubbish in Pasadena, California. If you've never thought about how much rubbish you throw away an honest photographic series will open your eyes. Men, women, couples and families with young children have been photographed lying on their backs surrounded by a week's worth of their own rubbish – from old cartons of milk, used nappies and even tampons. The startling series “Seven Days of Garbage” by Californian photographer Gregg Segal is an unforgettable reminder of the amount of waste a human collects in just seven days. (Photo by Gregg Segal/Barcroft Media)

Jewelry from packaging: Yoav Kotik’s rings, bracelets, necklaces and pendents are made from metal bottle caps. Yoav Kotik, the designer of "Precious metal" jewellery line, is a graduate of the "Bezalel academy of art and design" in Jerusalem. Yoav is a member of the Zik group. He frequently leads Master classes in the field of sculpture and design in recycled materials in academic institutes such as the "Shenkar academy of design" the "Bezalel academy" and the "Wizo academy". His works were presented in galleries across Israel, the UK, the Netherland and Japan.

An amazing artist transforms scrap metal into incredible sculptures of insects, birds, fish, and other animals. Edouard Martinet from Brittany, France, creates the sculptures from all manner of salvaged parts and junk, including car and bicycle parts, typewriters, and medical equipment. Photo: An ant by Edouard Martinet. (Photo by Edouard Martiniet/Caters News)