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Two individuals have been arrested as a component of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tons of refuse in a field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the massive pile of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions come after a recent report which exposed the operation of more than 500 unauthorized sites throughout the country of England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environmental agency stated that the apprehensions were for environmental and financial crimes and represented a "vital step" in active investigations. The apprehended men have been released on bail.

Size of the Situation

The dump in Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is thought to house about 21,000 tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of waste is made up of what seems to be sorted domestic refuse, shredded plastic materials, Styrofoam, tires and various domestic items.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unlawful dumps in the country, at least 11 of which hold over 20,000 tonnes of waste. These include a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual figure of such larger sites is expected to be larger, as the regulatory authority has earlier indicated it does not maintain information on tonnage for each illegal site.

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

Organized Activity

Authorities report numerous are run by criminal organizations, who are generating profit by demanding far less than licensed firms to take and bury rubbish.

Businesses have to pay disposal fees to use licensed waste facilities, contingent on the amount and nature of waste they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Initial work to clear the affected dump started earlier this month amid fears over the threat of combustion and the effect that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A private clean-up company has been granted the contract to remediate the site over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the national environment division commented that the authority would be seeking to claim back the remediation expenses under proceeds of crime legislation from any individual prosecuted at the end of its current investigation.

She noted that these detentions would help "push the inquiry forward" and enable authorities to "investigate more lines of inquiry to determine exactly what transpired and who was implicated".

"This illegal dump at the site was an appalling and deliberate assault on our ecology and we empathize with the public's anger at this terrible crime," she stated.

A senior representative supported the detentions, commenting: "This illegal deposit of garbage at Kidlington is disgraceful and has led to substantial harm to the natural world and upset to the surrounding community.

"Our government is dedicated to stamping out this category of crime throughout the nation, by augmenting resources to address illegal dumping, recruiting more personnel and implementing more severe measures and penalties for those who flout the law."

The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by officers from a specialist organised crime team and are in addition to an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in November. He was set free awaiting more inquiries.