Detentions Made in Relation to Massive Unlawful Landfill

Two men have been arrested as an element of an investigation into the tipping of thousands of tons of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities indicated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in connection with the massive pile of waste deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions come after a prior revelation which exposed the presence of over 500 unauthorized dumps in England, featuring at least 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory agency stated that the arrests were for environmental and financial offences and represented a "vital step" in ongoing probes. The two individuals have been released on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Problem

The tipping ground in Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to house around 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of garbage is composed of what looks to be sorted domestic waste, chopped up plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tires and various household items.

It is just a single of 517 unauthorized sites in England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tons of garbage. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total figure of such larger dumps is likely to be higher, as the environmental body has previously acknowledged it does not maintain records on weight for each illegal site.

A large proportion of sites are in countryside locations, often out of sight, and on land that should be arable land.

Organised Operations

Police report numerous are operated by organized crime groups, who are making money by charging much less than licensed operators to accept and bury garbage.

Companies have to be liable for disposal fees to use licensed disposal sites, based on the amount and nature of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Anger

Preparation work to clear the affected location started in recent weeks due to concerns over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the close-by highway.

A commercial clean-up firm has been awarded the contract to remediate the location over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the national regulatory division commented that the agency would be seeking to recover the remediation expenses under proceeds of crime acts from any party ultimately convicted at the conclusion of its active inquiry.

She noted that these detentions would help "push the probe forward" and allow authorities to "pursue more avenues to determine precisely what happened and who was a party to it".

"The unauthorized dump at this location was an atrocious and deliberate assault on our environment and we understand the community's outrage at this horrific act," she stated.

A senior minister supported the actions, adding: "This unlawful dumping of waste at Kidlington is appalling and has resulted in significant harm to the natural world and anguish to the local residents.

"Our administration is pledged to eliminating this kind of crime in the UK, by augmenting funds to combat waste crime, hiring more personnel and enacting stricter checks and penalties for those who flout the law."

The apprehensions were made on Thursday by agents from a regional organised crime team and are in addition to an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in the autumn. He was let go pending additional enquiries.