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A pair of individuals have been detained as an element of an investigation into the dumping of several thousand of metric tons of refuse in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities stated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in connection with the massive heap of waste tipped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a recent investigation which uncovered the existence of more than 500 unauthorized dumps in England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the environmental authorities stated that the arrests were for ecological and financial offences and were a "key step" in ongoing probes. The two individuals have been let go on conditional release.

Size of the Situation

The illegal site in Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to contain around 21,000 tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of garbage is composed of what looks to be sorted residential waste, fragmented plastic items, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and other domestic items.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unlawful sites across the country, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 tons of waste. These include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall amount of such bigger sites is likely to be higher, as the regulatory body has earlier acknowledged it does not hold records on tonnage for each illegal tip.

Most these sites are in agricultural settings, often concealed, and on land that is zoned as arable land.

Criminal Activity

Police say numerous are managed by organized crime groups, who are earning profit by demanding much less than lawful operators to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Firms have to be liable for disposal fees to use lawful landfill sites, contingent on the quantity and category of material they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Outrage

Preparation work to clean up the affected location commenced earlier this month following fears over the threat of blaze and the consequences that would have on the nearby A-road.

A contracted waste clearance company has been granted the contract to remediate the site over the following 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the government environmental crime team said that the body would be aiming to recoup the clean-up costs under asset recovery legislation from anyone ultimately convicted at the end of its current inquiry.

She further stated that this week's apprehensions would help "push the investigation forward" and allow officials to "investigate more leads to ascertain in detail what occurred and who was implicated".

"This unlawful tip at Kidlington was an shocking and deliberate attack on our environment and officials share the community's outrage at this horrific offence," she stated.

A government representative praised the arrests, commenting: "This unauthorized tipping of garbage at Kidlington is appalling and has caused substantial detriment to the environment and distress to the nearby population.

"The administration is pledged to stamping out this kind of illegal activity throughout the country, by boosting funds to address illegal dumping, recruiting more staff and implementing stricter measures and penalties for those who break the regulations."

The apprehensions were carried out on the specified day by officers from a regional organised crime unit and are in addition to an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in last November. He was released pending more enquiries.