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A pair of individuals have been arrested as an element of an inquiry into the dumping of several thousand of tons of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials reported that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough in relation with the massive heap of rubbish deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests follow a recent investigation which revealed the existence of in excess of 500 illegal sites across England, including at least 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory body commented that the apprehensions were for ecological and proceeds of crime offences and were a "key step" in active investigations. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Issue

The tipping ground in Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to hold around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of waste is made up of what appears to be processed household waste, shredded plastic materials, polystyrene, tires and other household items.

It is just one of 517 unauthorized sites in the country, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall amount of such major dumps is probably to be greater, as the regulatory authority has in the past acknowledged it does not hold information on weight for every unauthorized tip.

The majority these sites are in agricultural settings, typically hidden, and on land that is intended to be farm land.

Organized Activity

Police say many are operated by organised crime gangs, who are earning profit by charging significantly less than licensed operators to take and landfill garbage.

Firms have to incur gate fees to use licensed disposal sites, depending on the amount and category of material they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Outrage

Initial operations to remove the affected dump commenced earlier this month following worries over the threat of combustion and the consequences that would have on the close-by major road.

A private clean-up firm has been given the contract to handle the location over the coming 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the national regulatory unit commented that the agency would be aiming to recoup the remediation expenses under asset recovery acts from anyone ultimately convicted at the end of its current investigation.

She noted that the recent apprehensions would help "move the inquiry forward" and permit authorities to "follow more avenues to understand precisely what occurred and who was involved".

"This unlawful tip at this location was an appalling and calculated affront on our ecology and the authorities empathize with the community's anger at this egregious act," she remarked.

A senior minister supported the arrests, stating: "This unlawful tipping of garbage at the site is disgraceful and has led to considerable detriment to the environment and distress to the nearby population.

"Our administration is pledged to eradicating this category of crime in the country, by boosting financing to tackle environmental crime, recruiting more staff and introducing tougher checks and penalties for those who flout the rules."

The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist organised crime squad and follow an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was released awaiting additional investigations.