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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an investigation into the tipping of several thousand of metric tons of waste in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in connection with the huge mound of garbage deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests follow a prior investigation which exposed the existence of more than 500 unlawful tips in England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the regulatory agency said that the arrests were for environmental and proceeds of crime crimes and were a "key step" in ongoing probes. Both men have been released on pre-trial release.

Size of the Situation

The illegal site in near Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to house approximately 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of rubbish is composed of what seems to be treated household rubbish, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and other household objects.

It represents just one example of 517 illegal dumps in England, at least 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tons of waste. These feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The actual figure of such major dumps is probably to be greater, as the regulatory authority has earlier acknowledged it does not maintain records on weight for each unauthorized site.

Most sites are in agricultural settings, typically concealed, and on land that should be agricultural property.

Organized Activity

Police say numerous are operated by organised crime gangs, who are making cash by charging significantly less than lawful companies to accept and landfill rubbish.

Companies have to incur gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, based on the volume and category of waste they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Outrage

Preparatory work to remove the Kidlington location commenced in recent weeks amid fears over the potential of blaze and the consequences that would have on the nearby highway.

A contracted waste clearance firm has been given the contract to deal with the site over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the national environment division stated that the body would be looking to claim back the clearance funds under asset recovery legislation from any party prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing case.

She added that these arrests would help "push the investigation forward" and permit authorities to "investigate more leads to determine exactly what happened and who was involved".

"This unauthorized dump at this location was an appalling and deliberate affront on our ecology and officials understand the community's frustration at this terrible crime," she remarked.

A senior representative praised the actions, adding: "This unlawful deposit of rubbish at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has resulted in significant harm to the environment and distress to the surrounding residents.

"The authorities is dedicated to eradicating this type of criminality across the nation, by boosting resources to combat illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and introducing more severe checks and penalties for those who flout the law."

The detentions were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist serious crime squad and follow an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in last November. He was set free subject to additional enquiries.