Apprehensions Carried Out in Link to Supersized Unauthorized Rubbish Dump

Two men have been arrested as part of an investigation into the tipping of many thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in connection with the massive mound of garbage dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a prior investigation which exposed the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps throughout England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment body commented that the apprehensions were for environment-related and money laundering violations and were a "key step" in continuing inquiries. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Issue

The dump in near Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to house about 21,000 tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of waste is made up of what looks to be processed domestic waste, shredded plastics, Styrofoam, automobile tires and assorted domestic articles.

It is just a single of 517 unauthorized tips across England, at minimum 11 of which contain over 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. These encompass a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The total figure of such larger sites is expected to be larger, as the environment authority has in the past stated it does not maintain records on tonnage for every illegal site.

Most sites are in countryside areas, typically hidden, and on land that is zoned as arable ground.

Criminal Enterprise

Law enforcement state a significant number are run by organised crime gangs, who are earning cash by asking for far less than legitimate companies to receive and dispose of waste.

Companies have to be liable for site fees to use lawful disposal sites, contingent on the quantity and type of waste they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Anger

Initial operations to remove the Kidlington area site began earlier this month due to fears over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A contracted waste removal company has been given the task to remediate the area over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the country's environment team stated that the authority would be seeking to claim back the clearance expenses under asset recovery acts from any party ultimately prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She added that this week's detentions would help "push the inquiry forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more avenues to understand in detail what happened and who was involved".

"The illegal site at Kidlington was an atrocious and calculated attack on our ecology and the authorities share the community's frustration at this horrific offence," she said.

A cabinet official praised the actions, commenting: "This unlawful tipping of waste at this location is appalling and has caused substantial harm to the natural world and distress to the nearby community.

"Our authorities is committed to eradicating this type of illegal activity across the country, by increasing funds to combat illegal dumping, hiring more officers and introducing stricter controls and sanctions for those who violate the rules."

The apprehensions were made on Thursday by agents from a dedicated crime unit and come after an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in November. He was let go subject to additional inquiries.