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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an investigation into the dumping of many thousands of tonnes of waste in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in association with the massive heap of waste dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests occur a week after a previous report which revealed the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful sites throughout the country of England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental agency stated that the arrests were for environment-related and proceeds of crime violations and represented a "crucial step" in active inquiries. The two individuals have been set free on conditional release.

Scale of the Issue

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is thought to hold about 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of garbage is composed of what appears to be sorted household refuse, fragmented plastics, polystyrene, tires and other household articles.

It is just one example of 517 illegal tips across England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tonnes of waste. They feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The total number of such larger sites is expected to be larger, as the regulatory agency has earlier acknowledged it does not possess data on tonnage for each illegal tip.

Most these sites are in countryside settings, typically hidden, and on land that is zoned as arable property.

Organised Activity

Police report numerous are managed by criminal organizations, who are earning money by asking for far less than legitimate firms to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Companies have to incur disposal fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the amount and category of refuse they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Frustration

Preparatory efforts to clear the Kidlington area dump commenced in recent weeks following concerns over the threat of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A commercial clean-up firm has been awarded the job to deal with the area over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the country's regulatory team commented that the authority would be aiming to claim back the remediation costs under proceeds of crime legislation from any party found guilty at the termination of its ongoing case.

She noted that this week's arrests would help "drive the investigation forward" and enable the agency to "follow more avenues to ascertain precisely what occurred and who was implicated".

"The illegal tip at the site was an shocking and calculated assault on our environment and officials understand the community's anger at this egregious act," she said.

A government official praised the arrests, commenting: "The unlawful tipping of garbage at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has led to substantial damage to the environment and upset to the nearby residents.

"The administration is dedicated to eradicating this kind of illegal activity in the UK, by boosting resources to combat illegal dumping, hiring more staff and enacting tougher controls and fines for those who flout the regulations."

The detentions were executed on the specified day by officers from a specialist serious crime unit and come after an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was set free pending additional inquiries.