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Two men have been detained as a component of an probe into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tons of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in association with the enormous pile of garbage deposited near Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a prior investigation which uncovered the existence of over 500 illegal tips in England, including at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environment authorities commented that the arrests were for environmental and financial offences and constituted a "key step" in continuing inquiries. Both men have been released on bail.

Size of the Situation

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34, is thought to house approximately 21,000 tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of waste is consists of what appears to be sorted residential rubbish, chopped up plastic materials, Styrofoam, tires and other domestic articles.

It is just a single of 517 unlawful dumps throughout England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of waste. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual number of such bigger dumps is expected to be greater, as the environmental authority has earlier indicated it does not maintain records on volume for all unauthorized tip.

Most such locations are in agricultural locations, frequently concealed, and on land that is zoned as arable land.

Organized Operations

Authorities report numerous are run by organised crime gangs, who are generating money by charging much less than lawful operators to accept and dispose of garbage.

Companies have to pay disposal fees to use lawful landfill sites, based on the volume and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Frustration

Preparatory operations to clear the Kidlington site started recently following worries over the potential of combustion and the consequences that would have on the close-by A-road.

A contracted waste clearance firm has been given the contract to remediate the area over the next 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the country's environment unit said that the body would be aiming to recoup the clearance funds under asset recovery acts from anyone prosecuted at the termination of its ongoing case.

She added that the recent arrests would help "push the probe forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more leads to understand exactly what occurred and who was a party to it".

"The unauthorized dump at this location was an atrocious and calculated assault on our environment and officials empathize with the public's frustration at this egregious crime," she stated.

A cabinet minister praised the actions, adding: "The illegal tipping of waste at the site is utterly appalling and has resulted in significant harm to the natural world and distress to the local population.

"Our government is pledged to stamping out this kind of crime in the UK, by boosting financing to address waste crime, hiring more personnel and introducing tougher checks and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were made on the specified day by officers from a specialist organised crime squad and follow an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in November. He was let go subject to further inquiries.