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Two individuals have been taken into custody as part of an investigation into the tipping of many thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough, Berkshire in association with the huge pile of rubbish tipped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a previous report which exposed the existence of in excess of 500 unauthorized dumps across England, featuring at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the regulatory body commented that the apprehensions were for environment-related and financial offences and were a "key step" in ongoing investigations. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Situation

The dump in the Kidlington area, located between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is believed to contain approximately 21,000 metric tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of garbage is composed of what seems to be processed domestic waste, shredded plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and other everyday articles.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unauthorized sites across the country, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of waste. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual amount of such bigger sites is likely to be higher, as the environmental agency has earlier stated it does not hold information on volume for each unlawful dump.

Most sites are in countryside settings, frequently out of sight, and on land that should be agricultural ground.

Criminal Operations

Police report numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are generating money by asking for significantly less than lawful companies to accept and dispose of garbage.

Businesses have to incur disposal fees to use lawful landfill sites, based on the amount and nature of material they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Anger

Initial work to clear the Kidlington area dump started recently amid fears over the potential of combustion and the consequences that would have on the nearby A-road.

A commercial waste clearance company has been granted the task to deal with the site over the following 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the government regulatory unit stated that the body would be looking to recover the clearance costs under proceeds of crime laws from any individual ultimately prosecuted at the conclusion of its active inquiry.

She further stated that this week's arrests would help "push the probe forward" and enable the agency to "follow more leads to understand in detail what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unauthorized tip at this location was an atrocious and intentional assault on our natural surroundings and officials share the local frustration at this terrible offence," she stated.

A government representative welcomed the actions, commenting: "This unauthorized dumping of rubbish at this location is disgraceful and has led to significant detriment to the natural world and upset to the surrounding community.

"The authorities is committed to stamping out this kind of criminality in the country, by boosting financing to combat waste crime, hiring more staff and introducing stricter controls and sanctions for those who violate the regulations."

The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by personnel from a regional organised crime unit and are in addition to an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was set free awaiting additional investigations.