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Two individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the tipping of thousands of tons of waste in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in relation with the huge heap of rubbish dumped near Kidlington.

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

A official for the environment agency said that the apprehensions were for ecological and proceeds of crime crimes and were a "crucial step" in ongoing investigations. Both men have been set free on bail.

Scale of the Problem

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, located between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to contain approximately 21,000 tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of garbage is made up of what appears to be processed domestic refuse, chopped up plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted domestic objects.

It is just one example of 517 illegal dumps in England, at least 11 of which hold more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The actual amount of such larger locations is expected to be greater, as the regulatory body has in the past indicated it does not possess information on weight for every unauthorized dump.

Most these sites are in countryside settings, frequently concealed, and on land that is zoned as agricultural property.

Organised Activity

Police say a significant number are run by organized crime groups, who are making profit by charging far less than legitimate firms to receive and dispose of garbage.

Firms have to incur gate fees to use legitimate landfill sites, based on the volume and category of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Anger

Initial work to clean up the Kidlington area location started in recent weeks following fears over the risk of fire and the consequences that would have on the nearby highway.

A commercial clean-up company has been granted the task to remediate the location over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the government regulatory division commented that the authority would be aiming to claim back the remediation funds under asset recovery legislation from any individual ultimately prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing inquiry.

She further stated that the recent apprehensions would help "push the probe forward" and allow the agency to "investigate more avenues to determine exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This illegal dump at Kidlington was an shocking and calculated assault on our ecology and officials share the community's outrage at this horrific act," she stated.

A government official praised the actions, stating: "The illegal dumping of garbage at Kidlington is disgraceful and has resulted in substantial harm to the natural world and distress to the local community.

"The administration is pledged to stamping out this category of criminality throughout the country, by augmenting funds to combat environmental crime, recruiting more personnel and implementing stricter controls and sanctions for those who violate the rules."

The detentions were made on a recent Thursday by officers from a specialist organised crime unit and come after an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in November. He was set free subject to more inquiries.