🔗 Share this article

Two men have been arrested as an element of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in relation with the enormous pile of rubbish dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions follow a recent report which revealed the operation of in excess of 500 illegal sites across England, featuring at least 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the regulatory agency said that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering offences and were a "crucial step" in continuing inquiries. Both men have been let go on pre-trial release.

Size of the Situation

The dump in the Kidlington area, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is thought to house approximately 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of garbage is consists of what appears to be treated domestic rubbish, fragmented plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted household items.

It represents just one of 517 illegal tips across the country, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 metric tons of garbage. They feature a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall figure of such bigger dumps is likely to be higher, as the environment agency has previously stated it does not possess data on tonnage for all unauthorized site.

Most sites are in agricultural settings, frequently out of sight, and on land that is intended to be farm property.

Organized Enterprise

Authorities say a significant number are run by criminal organizations, who are generating money by demanding much less than lawful firms to receive and bury garbage.

Firms have to be liable for gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, based on the amount and category of material they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Anger

Preparation operations to clear the affected location began earlier this month following worries over the risk of fire and the effect that would have on the close-by major road.

A private clean-up contractor has been awarded the task to handle the area over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the national regulatory division said that the body would be looking to claim back the remediation funds under asset recovery legislation from any party successfully found guilty at the end of its current inquiry.

She further stated that these apprehensions would help "move the investigation forward" and allow the agency to "follow more leads to determine exactly what occurred and who was implicated".

"The unlawful dump at Kidlington was an atrocious and intentional assault on our natural surroundings and we understand the public's anger at this egregious act," she said.

A government minister supported the arrests, stating: "The illegal dumping of rubbish at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has led to significant detriment to the natural world and anguish to the nearby population.

"Our government is pledged to eliminating this kind of criminality in the nation, by augmenting funds to combat waste crime, recruiting more staff and implementing tougher controls and penalties for those who violate the rules."

The arrests were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist crime team and come after an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was let go subject to more investigations.