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Two individuals have been arrested as a component of an investigation into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in relation with the huge mound of garbage tipped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a previous investigation which revealed the existence of over 500 unlawful sites across England, including at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory agency stated that the apprehensions were for ecological and financial violations and constituted a "key step" in ongoing investigations. Both men have been set free on bail.

Scale of the Issue

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is estimated to hold approximately 21,000 tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of waste is composed of what appears to be processed household waste, chopped up plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted everyday articles.

It constitutes just one of 517 unauthorized dumps in the country, at a minimum of 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tonnes of garbage. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The actual number of such bigger dumps is likely to be larger, as the environmental agency has previously indicated it does not possess records on tonnage for every illegal dump.

The majority such locations are in agricultural locations, frequently out of sight, and on land that should be farm property.

Criminal Operations

Law enforcement report a significant number are operated by organized crime groups, who are generating money by asking for significantly less than lawful firms to accept and dispose of waste.

Companies have to be liable for site fees to use lawful disposal sites, based on the amount and type of material they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Outrage

Preparatory operations to clean up the Kidlington dump commenced in recent weeks due to concerns over the risk of combustion and the impact that would have on the nearby A-road.

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

An enforcement official for the country's environmental crime team stated that the authority would be seeking to recover the remediation funds under asset recovery legislation from anyone convicted at the end of its current case.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "move the inquiry forward" and permit officials to "investigate more leads to understand precisely what transpired and who was implicated".

"The unlawful dump at Kidlington was an atrocious and intentional assault on our ecology and the authorities share the local outrage at this egregious offence," she remarked.

A cabinet minister supported the actions, commenting: "This unlawful deposit of rubbish at this location is utterly appalling and has resulted in substantial harm to the environment and anguish to the local community.

"Our administration is pledged to eradicating this kind of criminality across the nation, by augmenting resources to tackle waste crime, employing more staff and enacting tougher measures and fines for those who flout the regulations."

The arrests were carried out on the specified day by officers from a specialist organised crime team and follow an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in November. He was released pending further investigations.