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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an investigation into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of refuse in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in association with the huge heap of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions come after a previous investigation which revealed the presence of in excess of 500 unauthorized dumps across England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environmental authorities stated that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering offences and were a "key step" in ongoing inquiries. Both men have been let go on pre-trial release.

Size of the Situation

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, located between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to hold about 21,000 tonnes of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of garbage is made up of what looks to be sorted domestic waste, shredded plastics, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and other everyday articles.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unlawful sites across England, at a minimum of 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 locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual amount of such major locations is expected to be greater, as the regulatory agency has earlier indicated it does not maintain data on weight for each unlawful dump.

Most sites are in rural settings, often concealed, and on land that is intended to be farm land.

Organized Activity

Authorities say a significant number are run by organised crime gangs, who are earning cash by demanding significantly less than licensed firms to accept and bury rubbish.

Businesses have to pay site fees to use lawful landfill sites, based on the volume and nature of material they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Frustration

Preparation operations to remove the affected site commenced earlier this month amid concerns over the threat of combustion and the impact that would have on the nearby A-road.

A contracted waste clearance firm has been awarded the contract to remediate the area over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the national environmental crime team stated that the body would be seeking to recover the clean-up funds under confiscation legislation from any party ultimately prosecuted at the termination of its active case.

She added that this week's apprehensions would help "move the investigation forward" and allow the agency to "follow more leads to ascertain in detail what happened and who was implicated".

"The unauthorized site at the site was an appalling and intentional affront on our ecology and officials understand the community's frustration at this terrible offence," she remarked.

A senior official praised the actions, stating: "The illegal dumping of waste at this location is disgraceful and has led to considerable detriment to the ecology and upset to the nearby residents.

"Our administration is pledged to eradicating this type of criminality throughout the country, by augmenting financing to combat environmental crime, recruiting more officers and introducing stricter checks and penalties for those who violate the rules."

The arrests were carried out on a recent Thursday by officers from a regional organised crime team and come after an earlier detention of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was released awaiting more investigations.