🔗 Share this article

Two men have been arrested as an element of an probe into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in relation with the massive mound of garbage dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests come after a recent investigation which uncovered the operation of in excess of 500 illegal dumps in England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory body said that the detentions were for ecological and financial violations and were a "key step" in active probes. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Problem

The illegal site in Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34, is thought to house around 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of waste is made up of what looks to be sorted domestic rubbish, fragmented plastics, polystyrene, tires and assorted everyday objects.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unlawful sites in England, at least 11 of which contain more than 20,000 metric tons of waste. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall figure of such bigger locations is probably to be greater, as the environment agency has previously indicated it does not maintain records on tonnage for all unauthorized site.

A large proportion of sites are in countryside locations, typically concealed, and on land that is intended to be farm land.

Organized Operations

Police say numerous are managed by criminal organizations, who are earning profit by charging far less than legitimate companies to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Firms have to be liable for disposal fees to use lawful disposal sites, based on the quantity and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Outrage

Preparation operations to clean up the Kidlington location started earlier this month amid concerns over the risk of fire and the consequences that would have on the nearby highway.

A contracted waste clearance company has been granted the task to deal with the location over the coming 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the country's environmental crime division commented that the body would be aiming to claim back the clearance costs under proceeds of crime laws from any party successfully convicted at the conclusion of its active inquiry.

She added that this week's detentions would help "drive the inquiry forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more lines of inquiry to determine exactly what happened and who was implicated".

"This illegal tip at this location was an shocking and deliberate attack on our environment and officials empathize with the public's outrage at this terrible crime," she said.

A cabinet representative praised the actions, stating: "This illegal dumping of garbage at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has resulted in considerable detriment to the natural world and upset to the surrounding community.

"Our administration is dedicated to eliminating this kind of illegal activity in the UK, by boosting financing to address environmental crime, recruiting more personnel and introducing stricter controls and penalties for those who violate the law."

The apprehensions were carried out on a recent Thursday by officers from a regional crime squad and come after an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in November. He was set free awaiting more enquiries.