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Two men have been arrested as part of an investigation into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tonnes of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough in association with the huge mound of rubbish dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions occur a week after a recent revelation which uncovered the existence of more than 500 illegal dumps throughout England, featuring at least 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environment agency commented that the detentions were for ecological and proceeds of crime offences and represented a "key step" in continuing investigations. Both men have been let go on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34, is believed to contain about 21,000 tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of waste is consists of what seems to be processed domestic waste, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted everyday articles.

It represents just one of 517 illegal sites throughout the country, at least 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 metric tons of garbage. These encompass a 280,000-tonne site 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 locations is expected to be larger, as the environmental authority has in the past acknowledged it does not maintain information on tonnage for every illegal dump.

A large proportion of sites are in rural locations, frequently hidden, and on land that is intended to be arable land.

Organized Operations

Authorities say numerous are managed by organised crime gangs, who are making profit by asking for far less than licensed operators to take and bury garbage.

Businesses have to be liable for disposal fees to use legitimate waste facilities, based on the quantity and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Frustration

Preparatory work to clear the affected location began recently amid concerns over the risk of combustion and the effect that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A private waste removal company has been granted the contract to deal with the location over the following 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the country's environmental crime unit stated that the authority would be seeking to recoup the remediation costs under proceeds of crime laws from any individual ultimately prosecuted at the end of its active inquiry.

She added that this week's apprehensions would help "move the probe forward" and enable the agency to "follow more lines of inquiry to determine exactly what transpired and who was implicated".

"This illegal tip at Kidlington was an atrocious and intentional attack on our environment and we share the local outrage at this egregious offence," she said.

A cabinet official praised the arrests, stating: "This illegal deposit of garbage at the site is appalling and has resulted in significant detriment to the natural world and distress to the surrounding population.

"The authorities is committed to eliminating this type of crime throughout the country, by increasing resources to tackle illegal dumping, recruiting more personnel and implementing more severe controls and fines for those who flout the rules."

The detentions were executed on the specified day by personnel from a specialist organised crime unit and are in addition to an prior apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was set free pending further enquiries.