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A pair of individuals have been arrested as a component of an investigation into the tipping of thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough, Berkshire in association with the huge pile of waste tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a previous report which exposed the existence of over 500 illegal dumps throughout England, including at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the regulatory agency commented that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering crimes and represented a "vital step" in active investigations. The two individuals have been set free on conditional release.

Size of the Problem

The tipping ground in Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34, is thought to contain around 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of garbage is composed of what seems to be treated household rubbish, chopped up plastic materials, polystyrene, automobile tires and various domestic items.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unauthorized sites in England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall number of such bigger dumps is probably to be higher, as the regulatory body has earlier acknowledged it does not possess data on tonnage for each illegal site.

A large proportion of such locations are in rural locations, frequently hidden, and on land that should be arable property.

Criminal Enterprise

Law enforcement say many are operated by organized crime groups, who are making money by charging significantly less than licensed companies to accept and bury waste.

Firms have to incur gate fees to use legitimate landfill sites, contingent on the quantity and type of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Frustration

Initial efforts to remove the Kidlington location commenced earlier this month amid concerns over the threat of combustion and the impact that would have on the nearby A-road.

A contracted waste removal firm has been given the task to handle the site over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the country's regulatory unit commented that the body would be aiming to recover the remediation costs under confiscation legislation from any party successfully found guilty at the termination of its active inquiry.

She added that the recent arrests would help "push the investigation forward" and allow officials to "investigate more lines of inquiry to ascertain in detail what transpired and who was implicated".

"The unlawful dump at this location was an shocking and deliberate attack on our environment and we empathize with the local frustration at this egregious crime," she said.

A cabinet official supported the detentions, stating: "The illegal dumping of garbage at this location is appalling and has caused significant harm to the environment and anguish to the nearby population.

"Our authorities is committed to eliminating this kind of illegal activity in the UK, by increasing financing to tackle illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and enacting more severe measures and fines for those who flout the rules."

The arrests were carried out on a recent Thursday by agents from a dedicated crime squad and are in addition to an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was let go subject to further enquiries.