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A pair of individuals have been arrested as a component of an investigation into the tipping of thousands of metric tons of refuse in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in the town of Slough in association with the massive heap of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests follow a prior investigation which revealed the operation of in excess of 500 unauthorized sites in England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environment agency commented that the apprehensions were for ecological and proceeds of crime violations and represented a "key step" in continuing investigations. Both men have been released on pre-trial release.

Size of the Situation

The dump in Kidlington, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to house approximately 21,000 tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of waste is made up of what appears to be treated household rubbish, chopped up plastic items, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and other everyday items.

It represents just one example of 517 unauthorized tips across England, at minimum 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tons of garbage. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall figure of such larger locations is likely to be greater, as the environmental body has earlier indicated it does not possess records on weight for each unlawful dump.

A large proportion of sites are in rural areas, typically hidden, and on land that is zoned as agricultural ground.

Organised Operations

Police report many are operated by organized crime groups, who are generating profit by charging much less than licensed firms to accept and dispose of waste.

Firms have to be liable for gate fees to use licensed disposal sites, contingent on the amount and type of waste they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Preparation efforts to clean up the Kidlington site commenced recently amid worries over the risk of fire and the effect that would have on the close-by A-road.

A commercial waste clearance firm has been granted the contract to deal with the area over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the government environmental crime team stated that the body would be looking to recover the clearance funds under confiscation laws from any party ultimately convicted at the conclusion of its current case.

She noted that the recent apprehensions would help "drive the investigation forward" and allow the agency to "investigate more avenues to understand in detail what occurred and who was implicated".

"This unlawful tip at the site was an appalling and calculated affront on our ecology and the authorities empathize with the local outrage at this horrific act," she said.

A senior representative supported the detentions, commenting: "The unauthorized tipping of garbage at the site is disgraceful and has resulted in significant harm to the ecology and anguish to the surrounding population.

"The administration is dedicated to stamping out this category of illegal activity throughout the nation, by boosting financing to tackle environmental crime, hiring more officers and enacting stricter controls and sanctions for those who flout the regulations."

The detentions were made on the specified day by personnel from a dedicated crime squad and come after an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was released pending additional enquiries.