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Two men have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the tipping of many thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in connection with the massive heap of waste deposited near Kidlington.

These detentions follow a previous investigation which uncovered the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful tips throughout the country of England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environmental authorities commented that the arrests were for ecological and financial crimes and represented a "key step" in ongoing investigations. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Problem

The tipping ground in Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to hold about 21,000 tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of garbage is consists of what appears to be processed household rubbish, fragmented plastic items, Styrofoam, tires and various household articles.

It is just a single of 517 unauthorized dumps throughout England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 metric tons of waste. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total number of such major sites is likely to be greater, as the regulatory agency has earlier indicated it does not hold records on tonnage for all unlawful site.

Most these sites are in rural locations, often hidden, and on land that is zoned as agricultural ground.

Organised Operations

Police report numerous are run by organized crime groups, who are making cash by charging significantly less than legitimate firms to receive and dispose of waste.

Firms have to pay disposal fees to use licensed waste facilities, contingent on the quantity and type of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Outrage

Initial efforts to clear the Kidlington area location began in recent weeks due to concerns over the risk of combustion and the effect that would have on the nearby major road.

A private waste removal company has been given the task to handle the location over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the national regulatory team commented that the body would be seeking to claim back the clearance funds under proceeds of crime acts from anyone ultimately convicted at the conclusion of its current investigation.

She noted that the recent arrests would help "push the inquiry forward" and allow authorities to "follow more leads to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was implicated".

"This unlawful tip at this location was an appalling and intentional affront on our ecology and officials share the community's outrage at this terrible act," she remarked.

A senior representative welcomed the actions, adding: "This illegal deposit of rubbish at this location is appalling and has caused significant harm to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding population.

"The administration is pledged to eliminating this type of crime throughout the UK, by increasing funds to tackle environmental crime, employing more officers and implementing stricter controls and penalties for those who violate the law."

The arrests were executed on a recent Thursday by personnel from a regional crime unit and come after an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in November. He was let go pending more enquiries.