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Two individuals have been arrested as part of an investigation into the illegal deposit of many thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in relation with the massive mound of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These arrests follow a previous revelation which exposed the operation of in excess of 500 unauthorized dumps throughout the country of England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the environment authorities said that the arrests were for ecological and proceeds of crime offences and represented a "vital step" in continuing inquiries. The apprehended men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Situation

The tipping ground in Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to hold approximately 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of garbage is composed of what looks to be sorted residential waste, shredded plastic items, polystyrene, automobile tires and various domestic objects.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unlawful sites across England, at least 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of waste. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall figure of such bigger dumps is probably to be larger, as the environmental authority has in the past indicated it does not hold information on volume for each illegal dump.

The majority these sites are in agricultural areas, frequently hidden, and on land that is intended to be farm property.

Organized Operations

Authorities report many are operated by organised crime gangs, who are generating money by demanding significantly less than lawful companies to receive and dispose of garbage.

Companies have to be liable for disposal fees to use lawful waste facilities, depending on the quantity and category of refuse they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Local Frustration

Initial operations to clean up the Kidlington dump commenced in recent weeks due to worries over the threat of fire and the effect that would have on the nearby major road.

A contracted waste removal contractor has been awarded the contract to deal with the area over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the national regulatory unit stated that the agency would be looking to recover the clean-up costs under asset recovery laws from any individual prosecuted at the end of its ongoing inquiry.

She noted that the recent arrests would help "push the inquiry forward" and allow authorities to "follow more avenues to ascertain exactly what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful site at the site was an appalling and deliberate affront on our natural surroundings and we share the community's frustration at this terrible crime," she stated.

A cabinet minister praised the detentions, adding: "The unlawful tipping of garbage at this location is disgraceful and has led to considerable harm to the natural world and upset to the local community.

"The government is pledged to eradicating this kind of illegal activity in the nation, by boosting funds to tackle waste crime, hiring more staff and introducing stricter checks and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by personnel from a dedicated organised crime team and come after an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was released pending more enquiries.