this is bbc news — i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 2:00pm. two thirds of plastic food containers still can't be recycled. campaigners are calling for action. this report actually is no surprise for us. itjust confirms something we have known for a long time. the producers are putting plastic products on the market without any thought of what happens to them at the end of their life. detectives investigating the disappearance of the midwife samantha eastwood carry out searches in a rural area of stoke—on—trent. spain and portugal could see record temperatures this weekend, as the heatwave continues across parts of the continent. here in cordoba, at around midnight last night, it was still 37 degrees. so very uncomfortable conditions, and we expect this hot weather to continue for at least a few days yet. north korea's foreign minister criticises the united states for urging other countries to maintain sanctions against pyongyang over its nuclear programme. also this hour — the record—breaking ‘bluebird'

hydroplane is relaunched. more than 50 years after it crashed, killing its pilot donald campbell, bluebird will take to the water on the isle of bute. england hold their nerve to beat india by 31 runs in a stunning climax to the first test at edgbaston. and at 2:30pm in talking books, gavin esler talks to chef and author rick stein on how british food has improved dramatically over the last 30 years. two—thirds of plastic food containers which householders put in their recycling bins — actually end up being

buried or burned — because they can't be recycled. the mixture of plastics used in many yoghurt pots, ready meal trays and other containers, limits the ability of councils to recycle them. that's according to the local government association of england and wales. it's calling for a ban on low—grade plastic. ministers say recycling rates are rising, but acknowledge there's "much more to do". jayne mccubbin reports. the costs to the planet are well—documented, but local authorities are warning that, despite their best efforts to recycle more plastic, they are being let down by manufacturers. while almost all local authorities collect plastic bottles for recycling, around a quarter refuse to collect otherfood packaging because of the way it's manufactured. the rest ends up here in landfill. it seems totally unfair

that the burden of un—recyclable plastic, the cost of dealing with that, lands with the council tax—payer, when actually manufacturers could do much more to make sure that these plastics are easily recyclable, reducing the cost to council tax—payers and making it easier and better for the environment. while plastic bottles are easy to recycle, their lids aren't, and aren't always collected. not all local authorities collect margarine tubs, food trays and yoghurt pots because of the mix of polymers which make the plastic difficult to recycle. even fewer authorities accept black microwave meal trays, because black plastic cannot be easily scanned and sorted. the plastics industry has hit back, saying that with 300 different recycling schemes out there, it's no wonder the public is confused. they believe it's down to local authorities to simplify and standardise the process. we need to work out as a total system where in the system is the best place to influence the people making the decisions or doing the sorting so that

everything that goes in at one end, like a nice plastic bottle or a polypropylene tray, will go through that system and has the absolute best chance of arriving at the end as a new packaging material. but the lga says if manufacturers aren't willing to make the change, they should face a charge to chip in towards the cost of collecting and disposing of products which some councils can't. jayne mccubbin, bbc news. let's talk to sian sutherland — co—founder of a plastic planet — a grassroots campaign group aiming to reduce our dependence on plastics. thank you forjoining us. are you happy with this call to try to cut out low—grade plastics?” happy with this call to try to cut out low-grade plastics? i guess the good news is that the bad news we have long suspected is now finally out. it's interesting listening to

your report just out. it's interesting listening to your reportjust out and hearing manufacturers place the burden of all of this on local councils, that, as you say, we pay for their services through council tax. how extraordinary that we have somehow developed a world where many manufacturers can pump out this plastic, make us by our food manufacturers can pump out this plastic, make us by ourfood in plastic, make us by ourfood in plastic packaging, and now we don't wa nt to plastic packaging, and now we don't want to buy it in that way but have no real responsibility for what happens to that plastic afterwards. i can't think of another industry that behaves in that way. so you're saying it is down to the manufacturers. we always told we have to play our part. as the public, we do wash out containers, but now we are learning it was all a waste of time and it doesn't actually get recycled, because it is wrong plastic. is it the wrong plastic, or is it that we don't have the right technology? it's the fact it shouldn't be in plastic in the first place. we need to go back to the root of it and think of a better material that could be used that is

easily recyclable. plastic is not, don't be fooled. there are no recycling fairies out there, the reality is we only recycle 9% of the plastic created by the uk in the uk. 65% of it is shipped abroad and marked down as recycled. this is all now coming to light. let's go back to the root of the problem was that lets not to use plastic in the first place. that's what we are all about, working with supermarkets and the food and drink brands to try to accelerate this pace of change so they stop using plastic. there are other materials. what is this addiction that we think it's the only thing out there? it isn't. so what are those materials? i have heard of a product that looks and behaves like plastic, made out of cassava , behaves like plastic, made out of cassava, but it breaks down. there isa cassava, but it breaks down. there is a level of conspiracy, and i will say that word. i think there is a

huge amount of pressure against change happening. that's what we asked the public need to be aware of. for decades we have been told to recycle everything, rinse it out and put it in the right thing and we will look after it, but that has not been happening. we have sent millions of tonnes to other countries expecting them to deal with our trash. we have to deal with oui’ with our trash. we have to deal with our own with our trash. we have to deal with ourown dirt, with our trash. we have to deal with our own dirt, that's the message. some of the materials we use, we know and love them, but we have fallen out of love with them a little bit, glass, metal, cardboard, pulp board. agricultural waste. i bought a planet of strawberries today, and the planet and film were made out of the leaves and stalks of the strawberry plant. that's the technology we need, not more fossil fuel, indestructible plastic, that is used for moments and exists for centuries. we need to act fast and now that we know. it starts with the manufacturers and also the supermarkets telling the food and drink brands that change has to

happen faster. you also said we have to be aware of these products. how do you get that message across to the public, and are you saying it is then down to us to put pressure on then down to us to put pressure on the manufacturers and put pressure on supermarkets to say, this is what we want. why is it down to us as the public? i agree? why is this the consumer's fault, when you go shopping and it's impossible to buy anything without plastic. we don't wa nt anything without plastic. we don't want it any more, so how do we see change? the only way we get out of this problem is to turn off the plastic tap. that is urging everybody and champion the brands that don't use plastic, to turn the tap off as quickly as we can. recycling isn't the answer, because you only ever down cycle plastic, it doesn't fit into a circular economy. it's not the right use of words, it's a downward spiral with plastic. 0ne bottle will never become another

nice clear bottle. that's not the way plastic behaves. it degrades every time it is recycled, so we have to use a different material in the first place. you mentioned biological materials. firstly we turn off the tap, but secondly, com pletely turn off the tap, but secondly, completely and radically change the waste management system. we need to make the producers, the users of plastic, responsible for what happens to it, and massively incentivise people who don't use plastic, who use other materials to package our food and plastic, who use other materials to package ourfood and drink, and that will involve legislation. we need the government to step up and show really strong leadership. thank you for your time. detectives in staffordshire investigating the disappearance of a midwife are carrying out searches in a rural area of stoke—0n—trent. samantha eastwood was last seen leaving work after her night shift at royal stoke university hospital last friday. specialist teams are extending their search to the village of caverswall.

police have cordoned off an area as part of their ongoing investigation. our correspondent sarah corker gave us this update from the scene of the search. the search for samantha eastwood is now focused on this rural part of north staffordshire. we are around ten miles, a 30 minute drive, from stoke—on—trent here. this road behind me was cordoned off earlier this morning near the village of caverswall. specialist police officers aided by police dogs have been scouring a large area of woodland and fields and they have been on—site here for the last three or four hours. it's not clear at this stage why the focus of this investigation has moved to this area. samantha eastwood has not been seen since she left work last friday at the royal stoke hospital. a 32—year—old man was arrested in connection with her disappearance but has since been released. today, staffordshire police renewed their appeal for members of the public to report any sightings of vehicles parked

in strange locations, in lay—bys or isolated areas, and they say their officers are working round—the—clock to find samantha. three people have died of heatstroke in spain this week, with temperatures there reaching as high as 45 degrees. tour operators say last minute summer holiday bookings to countries around the mediterranean are down, as tourists seek out cooler destinations. 0ur correspondent sima kotecha is in the spanish city of cordoba, and has been explaining how uncomfortable the conditions really are. well, we have been working in this heat since the early hours of this morning and it has not felt very pleasant at all and i think people who live here in cordoba, most of them share the same viewpoint. of course people here are used to hot summers but this weather really has been exceptional. we know that the highest temperature recorded in the south of spain yesterday was 46.1; celsius.

and here in cordoba at around midnight last night it was still 37 degrees, so very uncomfortable conditions and we expect this hot weather to continue for at least a few days yet, especially these temperatures above a0 celsius. we also know that three people have died in spain as a result of this torrid weather and we know that 39 of the 50 provinces in spain have heat warnings in place. so medical experts are telling people to stay cool, stay indoors, especially during the afternoon when those temperatures peak and to wear light and loose clothing to keep themselves safe from this very uncomfortable weather. alina jenkins from the bbc weather centre is here with me now. fabulous for you to come down to join us. quite shocking in terms of how high those temperatures are getting. should we be worried?m

how high those temperatures are getting. should we be worried? it is very high. bear in mind the average, taking sevilla, one of the warmer places in spain, the average at this time of year is around 3a celsius and we exceed that already, before we even start breaking temperatures. temperatures around that neck of the woods are between 43 and 44 celsius, 10 degrees higher. we have a way to go before we talk about breaking records, and the records across parts of spain and portugal are around 47 celsius, 47.1; in portugal, when we made that temperature in 2003. 47.3 in spain, which we did last year in cordoba. we will probably get close to that today, but whether we break a record is a different matter. the highest temperature ever recorded in europe was 48 celsius in greece in 1977. so it has been a number of years. to put that in context, since we have seen temperatures as high as that.

why this sharp rise in temperatures this year? you can link it with what is happening with us as well, where we have seen well above average temperatures. we need to look at natural weather patterns, so the jet strea m natural weather patterns, so the jet stream for example is very weak. that is the ribbon of wind high up in the atmosphere that drives the weather system and it is not very strong at the moment. when you get a particular weather pattern, this area of high pressure, itjust hangs around and there is no change from day to day in the wind direction. in the summer in the northern hemisphere, when you go to spain, andi hemisphere, when you go to spain, and i have seen temperatures nudging 40 celsius in spain, but when you have that heat building day after day, and it is very warm across parts of north africa, so with a southerly wind pushing the air across, a combination of these things, higher pressure, it's not going anywhere and that's why would temperatures are getting close to the record. a lot of people will talk about climate change, so is there a connection? of course, we

can never take one particular weather event and distribute it to climate change. that being said, the met office has said in recent weeks that the temperatures we are seeing at the moment, which we feel are perhaps extreme, could become the norm by 2040. you also have to put other things in context, while we are talking about this extreme heat there have been other parts of europe that have been very much cooler than average. iceland, for example, is having a shocker of a summer example, is having a shocker of a summer to the north of the jet stream. and just a few weeks and months ago, iberia saw temperatures well below average for the time of year. in britain, we have had a summer! when will? i think a lot of us summer! when will? i think a lot of us would like it to break down because the rainfall amounts have been so low, a bit of rain last weekend but not enough. people want to enjoy the summer weather and they wa nt to to enjoy the summer weather and they want to look for some rain. we might see some in the middle of the week. a frontal push down from the

north—west in the next few days and that will eventually reduce temperatures, so things turn cooler week. thank you. the headlines on bbc news... new research finds two thirds of plastic containers still can't be recycled, as councils call for action. detectives investigating the disappearance of midwife samantha eastwood are carrying out searches in a rural area of stoke—on—trent. spain and portugal could see record temperatures this weekend, as the heatwave continues across parts of the continent. an nhs heart surgery unit says it's taking swift action after a leaked report concluded that claims of a "toxic" row between surgeons at a cardiac unit contributed to a higher mortality rate. the report into the unit at st george's hospital in london — seen by the times newspaper — says the team was consumed by a "dark force" and

patients were put at risk. jenny kumahjoins me now from outside st george's hospital in south london. for many people this is shocking and very worrying indeed. yes, saint georges hospital is one of 28 nhs hospitals that carries out heart surgery. hospitals that carries out heart surgery. the college of cardiothoracic surgeons alerted the trust to unexpected high death rates for heart surgery for this year and last year. this prompted management here to carry out a review. they brought in an independent expert. professor buick, a former medical director from the nhs. professor buick, a former medical directorfrom the nhs. the findings of his report, he makes some damning criticisms of the situation here, and he found mortality rate was almost twice the national average and the lack of internal scrutiny of

the results of the data was inadequate. he said the department was split into two and it was exhibiting, staff were exhibiting, tribal like activity. the hospital's response has been to say that surgery response has been to say that surgery is safe and they are implementing the recommendations of the report at pace, including the immediate relocation of surgeries into what is being called a single speciality practice. next week new surgeons are being brought in to give leadership support and they are also looking at the way data on mortality is managed and governed. the royal college of surgeons has also given their response, saying that there could be clinically valid reasons for the trust's worse than average early survival rates. they say the trust has always been within the required uk standards. jenny, thank you. north korea's foreign

minister has criticised the united states for urging other countries to maintain sanctions against pyongyang. ri yong ho said that despite goodwill measures taken by his country, washington was raising its voice louder in favour of sanctions. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, said pressure must be maintained on north korea. karishma vaswani reports. less than two months since the historic trump—kim summit which took place in singapore, the americans are back. the us secretary of state mike pompeo is here to meet with his counterparts at the association of southeast asian nations. and while he acknowledged the process to denuclearise north korea will take time, he also stressed how vital it is to keep up the pressure on pyongyang. i've also emphasised the importance of maintaining diplomatic and economic pressure on north korea to achieve the final, fully—verified denuclearisation of the dprk, as agreed to by chairman kim. it is worth remembering, this isn't

just an american security goal. it is clear our partners and allies within asia know how important the neutralisation of north korea is for their own security. mr pompeo's comments come as a report commissioned by the un security council says north korea has not stopped its nuclear and missile programmes, violating un sanctions. mr pompeo didn't directly address that but did say that russia has reportedly started issuing work permits to north korean labourers, which moscow has denied. we expect the russians and all countries to abide by the un security council resolutions and enforced sanctions on north korea. any violation that detracts from the world's goal of finally fully denuclearising north korea would be something that america would take very seriously. it has been less than two months since president trump and kim jong—un met at the historic trump—kim summit and pledged to work

towards denuclearisation. but we are still nowhere closer to figuring out what that actually means. all that mr pompeo has said here at the meetings in singapore is that the timeline, in part, is up to the north korean leader. and until then, economic sanctions on pyongyang will stay. karishma vaswani, bbc news, singapore. well, it's been revealed that a us diplomat handed a letter for the north korean leader, kim jong—un, from president trump, to north korea's foreign minister at the meeting today. earlier, scott lucas, professor of international politics at the university of birmingham, explained some of the diplomacy behind the scenes. mike pompeo is basicallyjust putting out standard signals, which is, all is going to be ok. in fact, this is a regional process, and the north koreans are not only talking to the americans,

but also the chinese. the north koreans are saying they are taking steps to reduce tensions, so why maintain sanctions on us? the chinese will not completely go against international sanctions, but there are signals they might look at specific areas where they might pull back. the russians are already taking steps and signalling to pyongyang, we will also give you, for example, visas for north korean labourers to give you some kind of economic assistance. if we are being open and honest about this, we would talk about — this will be a staged process that will take many months. you will not see north korea giving up its nuclear programme on day one. similarly, you will not see the us withdraw all its military troops from south korea on day one. but the problem is, that long and hard diplomatic process doesn't make for glorious headlines, especially the type that donald trump wants, which is, ijust made a wonderful deal and there is no longer a north korean nuclear threat. we get the public smoke, but the reality behind the smoke is what we have to watch carefully for over a long—term process. tens of thousands of women have been

demonstrating in the south korean capital seoul, calling for action to be taken against spy cam pornography. it's been called an epidemic — and many south korean women say it has them living in constant anxiety and distress. catherine karelli reports. chanting. south korea is in the middle of a record—breaking heatwave. but that hasn't discouraged women from taking to the streets of seoul in a mass protest. the target of their anger, so—called spy cam videos. translation: i've always been under the fear that there could be secret spy cameras at the toilets, in the company building, or underneath the desks. the threat is also there at public bathing areas, gyms, swimming pool changing rooms, accommodation and on the street. spy cam pornography is the spread

of intimate photos and footage taken by hidden camera. in south korea, it is so pervasive that it regularly makes headlines. perpetrators have included schoolteachers, church pastors, government officials and police officers. in some cases, the victim's own boyfriends or relatives. just last month, amid growing pressure to act, president moon jae—in called for tougher measures on the culprits. but police teams tasked with uncovering the hidden cameras have a tough job ahead of them. translation: the problem is they can install and uninstall the cameras quicker than we can find them. the me too movement has led to an unprecedented surge in female led activism in south korea, with a monthly anti—spy cam demonstration in seoul holding the title of the biggest ever women's protest in the country. perhaps in a sign of the tough battle that lies ahead of them, though, many of the women taking part in the protests opted to keep their faces covered,

citing safety concerns. but if there is one thing that's clear, it is that the women are fed up of living in fear and they are fighting back. catherine karelli, bbc news. the children's commissioner for england has written to the secretaries of state local government and education seeking reassurance that the government will protect services in northamptonshire. it comes after the local authority drew up plans for major reductions in the services it provides, because of funding shortfalls. in a letter seen by the bbc, anne longfield tells ministers that it is "essential that vulnerable children's services are protected", warning that the "consequences could be catastrophic" an "unprecedented" level of staff sickness has led to the closure of the westbound m48 severn bridge. the highways agency says it opted to close the tollbooths on the bridge to protect the safety of staff and drivers. motorists are being advised to travel via the second

severn crossing — now known as the prince of wales bridge, instead. the bridge — which opened in 1996 — carries around 17,000 vehicles a day. the eastbound carriageway, which is not controlled by tollbooths, is open. the record—breaking hydroplane, bluebird, is expected to take to the water today, for the first time in more than half a century. the high—speed boat arrived on the isle of bute for tests yesterday. volunteers have spent the last 17 years restoring bluebird. it crashed and sank on coniston water in the lake district in 1967, killing the pilot, donald campbell. catriona renton is on the isle of bute. she has not been seen on water for more than 50 years, but bluebird waits ready to test the waters of loch fad — as does her pilot. something i am massively interested in, even just from the historic point, just to be able to touch it is amazing.

but to actually be able to be privileged enough to get in and mash it, that is pretty good. this was bluebird in 1967. donald campbell was reaching speeds of over 300 miles per hour on coniston water in the lake district, when she flipped and crashed. when she was raised in 2001, donald campbell's mascot mr whoppit, was found. he was on everyjourney bluebird ever made. the workmanship! i mean, just look at it, it is just stunning. when she came off the ferry last night, ifilled up. the painstaking task of restoring bluebird has taken 17 years. these childrens' that have been working on it all their lives. it has been amazing and extraordinary for this. these childrens' dads have been working on it all their lives. it has been amazing and extraordinary for this. i have spent time with him and i'm glad i get to spend more time with him. but this boat has changed his life and made him so proud of his friends and his team and this has changed ourfamily and i am

really proud of him. 0nce bluebird is launched, trials will take place here for the next couple of weeks. a chance to see a legend restored to herformer glory. catriona renton, bbc news, on the isle of bute. a group of 57 skydivers have set a new world record in ukraine. a group of 57 females skydivers have set a new world record in ukraine. it's the highest number of people to get into and then change formation three times during a dive — and it all happened in just 90 seconds. they beat the previous record by one. a little bit of sport now — and england's cricketers have held their nerve to beat india by 31 runs in the first test at edgbaston. bowler ben stokes took four second—innings wickets for 40 runs, as the visitors were dismissed for 162 in their second innings. stokes could miss the second test of the 5—match series at lords next week, as his court

case for affray begins in bristol on monday. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. 0nce once again it's a story of warmth and sunshine for much of england and wales. a different story in northern ireland and scotland, with more cloud and outbreaks of rain continuing to work northwards through scotland this evening and overnight. a dry night elsewhere with clearer skies for england and wales but not as warm and muggy as the nightjust gone with lows of 11-16. the nightjust gone with lows of 11—16. high pressure in charge of the weather tomorrow so a dry day for most. the lion's share of the sunshine across england and wales, more cloud across northern ireland, northern england and scotland, but still sunshine breaking through at times. in the high teens in scotland, close to 30 across east anglia and the south—east of england. at the start of the working

week, high pressure keeping things settled across england and wales but further north and west a front will slip southwards to bring more cloud and patchy rain for northern ireland and patchy rain for northern ireland and scotland, but further south, hanging on to the sunshine and warmth.