Arrests Carried Out in Connection to Massive Unauthorized Waste Site

A pair of individuals have been arrested as a component of an probe into the tipping of several thousand of metric tons of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in connection with the enormous mound of garbage tipped near Kidlington.

These detentions follow a previous report which exposed the presence of more than 500 unauthorized dumps throughout England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environmental body stated that the arrests were for ecological and financial offences and constituted a "vital step" in active investigations. The two individuals have been set free on conditional release.

Size of the Problem

The dump in Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34, is believed to hold around 21,000 tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of waste is composed of what appears to be processed domestic waste, fragmented plastic items, Styrofoam, tyres and various domestic objects.

It constitutes just one of 517 unlawful dumps throughout England, at minimum 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of waste. They include a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual amount of such bigger sites is expected to be higher, as the environmental authority has earlier stated it does not hold data on tonnage for every illegal site.

The majority these sites are in countryside settings, often out of sight, and on land that is intended to be farm property.

Criminal Activity

Law enforcement report a significant number are run by criminal organizations, who are earning money by demanding much less than lawful operators to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Companies have to pay gate fees to use licensed waste facilities, based on the amount and type of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Anger

Preparatory operations to clean up the Kidlington location started earlier this month amid concerns over the potential of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent highway.

A private waste clearance firm has been given the job to remediate the location over the coming 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the national environment unit said that the authority would be aiming to claim back the remediation expenses under confiscation legislation from anyone ultimately found guilty at the termination of its active case.

She noted that this week's apprehensions would help "push the inquiry forward" and allow officials to "pursue more avenues to understand precisely what happened and who was implicated".

"The illegal dump at this location was an atrocious and deliberate attack on our environment and we empathize with the community's frustration at this horrific act," she said.

A government representative welcomed the arrests, stating: "This unauthorized dumping of rubbish at this location is disgraceful and has led to substantial detriment to the ecology and distress to the local community.

"The government is pledged to eradicating this type of illegal activity in the nation, by increasing funds to address waste crime, hiring more personnel and introducing stricter checks and sanctions for those who break the regulations."

The detentions were executed on the specified day by agents from a specialist organised crime unit and come after an previous arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in last November. He was set free awaiting further enquiries.