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A pair of individuals have been arrested as an element of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of thousands of tons of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in association with the huge pile of garbage tipped near Kidlington.

These arrests occur a week after a prior report which exposed the existence of more than 500 unlawful dumps across England, featuring at least 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the regulatory body commented that the detentions were for environmental and proceeds of crime violations and were a "key step" in ongoing inquiries. The apprehended men have been released on pre-trial release.

Size of the Problem

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

This pile of rubbish is made up of what looks to be treated residential refuse, fragmented plastic items, Styrofoam, automobile tires and other household articles.

It constitutes just one example of 517 illegal dumps across England, at minimum 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tonnes of waste. These feature a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The total figure of such major sites is probably to be larger, as the regulatory authority has in the past acknowledged it does not hold data on tonnage for every unauthorized site.

The majority sites are in rural areas, frequently out of sight, and on land that should be agricultural ground.

Organised Activity

Law enforcement say numerous are run by criminal organizations, who are generating money by demanding significantly less than licensed operators to accept and dispose of waste.

Businesses have to pay site fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the amount and type of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Outrage

Preparation efforts to clear the Kidlington area dump began earlier this month due to fears over the threat of combustion and the consequences that would have on the adjacent major road.

A private waste removal company has been given the contract to handle the area over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the government regulatory unit said that the authority would be aiming to claim back the clean-up funds under asset recovery legislation from any party ultimately found guilty at the termination of its current case.

She added that these detentions would help "move the probe forward" and enable authorities to "investigate more avenues to determine in detail what transpired and who was implicated".

"The unauthorized tip at this location was an shocking and deliberate assault on our environment and officials empathize with the public's anger at this horrific offence," she stated.

A senior official praised the detentions, commenting: "The unauthorized dumping of waste at this location is appalling and has caused substantial harm to the environment and upset to the local residents.

"Our administration is pledged to eradicating this type of criminality in the UK, by boosting financing to address illegal dumping, recruiting more personnel and implementing stricter controls and penalties for those who break the regulations."

The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a regional organised crime unit and come after an previous apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in last November. He was released pending more enquiries.