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A pair of individuals have been detained as an element of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of thousands of tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

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

These arrests follow a previous revelation which exposed the operation of more than 500 unlawful dumps across the country of England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment body stated that the arrests were for ecological and money laundering crimes and constituted a "vital step" in continuing probes. Both men have been set free on bail.

Scale of the Problem

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to contain about 21,000 tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of waste is composed of what looks to be processed domestic refuse, fragmented plastic materials, Styrofoam, automobile tires and other household items.

It is just a single of 517 unlawful dumps in England, at minimum 11 of which hold over 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall amount of such major locations is probably to be greater, as the environmental agency has earlier indicated it does not possess data on volume for every unauthorized tip.

A large proportion of these sites are in rural areas, typically concealed, and on land that is intended to be arable land.

Organised Activity

Authorities say a significant number are run by criminal organizations, who are generating money by demanding much less than licensed operators to receive and landfill waste.

Firms have to incur site fees to use legitimate disposal sites, contingent on the volume and type of waste they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Anger

Initial efforts to clear the Kidlington site started earlier this month due to concerns over the risk of blaze and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial waste clearance contractor has been awarded the job to remediate the area over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the government regulatory unit said that the body would be aiming to claim back the clearance expenses under asset recovery legislation from anyone successfully prosecuted at the termination of its active case.

She noted that this week's arrests would help "push the investigation forward" and allow authorities to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand in detail what happened and who was implicated".

"This unlawful dump at Kidlington was an shocking and calculated attack on our natural surroundings and we share the public's outrage at this egregious act," she said.

A senior representative praised the arrests, stating: "This unlawful tipping of waste at Kidlington is disgraceful and has led to substantial harm to the natural world and anguish to the nearby community.

"The authorities is dedicated to eliminating this category of illegal activity across the nation, by boosting resources to combat environmental crime, employing more officers and implementing more severe measures and penalties for those who break the rules."

The arrests were made on the specified day by officers from a dedicated crime team and follow an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in November. He was set free pending more enquiries.