Apprehensions Carried Out in Relation to Enormous Illegal Waste Site

A pair of individuals have been arrested as part of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of thousands of tonnes of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities 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, Berkshire in association with the massive heap of rubbish deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions occur a week after a previous revelation which revealed the operation of in excess of 500 unlawful tips in England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory agency stated that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering crimes and represented a "key step" in active inquiries. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Size of the Issue

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to contain about 21,000 tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of rubbish is consists of what seems to be treated residential refuse, shredded plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted household articles.

It represents just one example of 517 unlawful dumps throughout England, at minimum 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual number of such bigger sites is likely to be higher, as the environmental agency has earlier acknowledged it does not maintain data on tonnage for each illegal dump.

Most these sites are in countryside areas, often out of sight, and on land that is zoned as arable ground.

Organized Activity

Authorities report many are managed by organized crime groups, who are earning cash by demanding significantly less than legitimate firms to receive and bury rubbish.

Firms have to incur site fees to use legitimate disposal sites, contingent on the quantity and category of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Outrage

Initial work to clean up the Kidlington area site began earlier this month due to fears over the risk of fire and the effect that would have on the close-by highway.

A commercial clean-up contractor has been granted the job to deal with the location over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the country's regulatory division commented that the authority would be aiming to claim back the clean-up funds under asset recovery laws from any individual ultimately convicted at the conclusion of its current investigation.

She further stated that this week's detentions would help "drive the investigation forward" and enable the agency to "investigate more leads to ascertain exactly what happened and who was a party to it".

"This unauthorized site at this location was an appalling and deliberate assault on our ecology and officials empathize with the local frustration at this egregious act," she said.

A government official supported the detentions, stating: "The unauthorized tipping of rubbish at Kidlington is disgraceful and has resulted in significant harm to the natural world and upset to the local population.

"Our administration is committed to eliminating this category of criminality throughout the UK, by increasing resources to address illegal dumping, employing more officers and implementing stricter checks and penalties for those who flout the rules."

The detentions were made on a recent Thursday by personnel from a dedicated crime unit and come after an prior apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford region in November. He was released subject to additional investigations.