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Two men have been taken into custody as a component of an probe into the tipping of thousands of tons of waste in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in the town of Slough in association with the enormous heap of waste tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a prior report which revealed the existence of in excess of 500 unauthorized sites in England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the regulatory authorities said that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime crimes and constituted a "vital step" in ongoing inquiries. Both men have been released on conditional release.

Scale of the Issue

The dump in the Kidlington area, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to house approximately 21,000 metric tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of rubbish is composed of what looks to be sorted domestic waste, chopped up plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and assorted everyday objects.

It is just one of 517 unlawful sites throughout the country, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall amount of such larger locations is likely to be larger, as the regulatory agency has previously indicated it does not possess data on volume for each unlawful dump.

A large proportion of such locations are in rural locations, typically out of sight, and on land that is zoned as agricultural property.

Organized Activity

Authorities say a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are earning money by charging significantly less than licensed companies to take and bury rubbish.

Companies have to be liable for disposal fees to use licensed disposal sites, depending on the volume and nature of material they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Anger

Initial work to remove the Kidlington area site started earlier this month amid fears over the potential of fire and the impact that would have on the adjacent major road.

A contracted clean-up company has been given the job to deal with the site over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the government environmental crime team stated that the authority would be looking to claim back the clean-up costs under confiscation acts from any individual ultimately found guilty at the conclusion of its ongoing inquiry.

She noted that these arrests would help "move the inquiry forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand exactly what happened and who was implicated".

"This illegal site at the site was an atrocious and intentional attack on our ecology and we empathize with the local outrage at this horrific offence," she remarked.

A government minister praised the detentions, commenting: "This illegal dumping of rubbish at this location is disgraceful and has led to substantial harm to the natural world and anguish to the local residents.

"Our administration is pledged to stamping out this type of criminality across the nation, by increasing funds to combat environmental crime, hiring more staff and enacting tougher controls and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The arrests were made on the specified day by personnel from a regional organised crime squad and are in addition to an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in last November. He was set free awaiting additional enquiries.