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A pair of individuals have been arrested as a component of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of tons of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in association with the enormous pile of rubbish dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions follow a recent report which exposed the existence of over 500 unlawful tips throughout the country of England, featuring at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environmental authorities said that the detentions were for environmental and proceeds of crime crimes and constituted a "crucial step" in ongoing probes. The apprehended men have been let go on conditional release.

Size of the Problem

The illegal site in Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is estimated to house around 21,000 tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of waste is composed of what looks to be processed household rubbish, shredded plastic materials, polystyrene, automobile tires and other everyday articles.

It constitutes just a single of 517 illegal dumps throughout England, at minimum 11 of which contain over 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual number of such larger sites is probably to be higher, as the environmental agency has earlier acknowledged it does not hold records on tonnage for every unlawful tip.

Most such locations are in countryside areas, often concealed, and on land that should be farm land.

Organized Activity

Law enforcement say numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are making profit by demanding much less than licensed operators to take and dispose of garbage.

Businesses have to pay disposal fees to use lawful landfill sites, depending on the volume and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Outrage

Preparation efforts to clear the Kidlington area dump started earlier this month due to fears over the potential of combustion and the consequences that would have on the close-by highway.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been given the job to handle the site over the next 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the government regulatory team said that the agency would be aiming to recoup the clearance funds under confiscation legislation from any party ultimately found guilty at the conclusion of its ongoing case.

She added that this week's detentions would help "drive the probe forward" and allow the agency to "investigate more lines of inquiry to understand precisely what occurred and who was involved".

"The illegal dump at the site was an atrocious and deliberate assault on our natural surroundings and officials share the public's outrage at this terrible offence," she stated.

A senior official welcomed the arrests, stating: "This unauthorized deposit of rubbish at this location is disgraceful and has resulted in substantial harm to the natural world and distress to the surrounding community.

"The government is pledged to eradicating this type of illegal activity across the country, by augmenting funds to tackle environmental crime, employing more staff and implementing tougher controls and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The apprehensions were executed on the specified day by officers from a dedicated organised crime team and come after an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in November. He was set free pending further inquiries.