Apprehensions Carried Out in Link to Massive Unauthorized Landfill

Two individuals have been detained as an element of an investigation into the tipping of thousands of tonnes of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a residence in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough in relation with the massive pile of waste deposited near Kidlington.

These arrests follow a recent revelation which revealed the existence of more than 500 unlawful dumps throughout the country of England, including at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental agency said that the detentions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime violations and were a "crucial step" in ongoing inquiries. The two individuals have been released on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Problem

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

This heap of waste is consists of what appears to be processed residential refuse, fragmented plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted everyday items.

It constitutes just one of 517 illegal dumps across England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain over 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The total amount of such bigger dumps is likely to be greater, as the environment agency has previously indicated it does not hold records on weight for all illegal dump.

Most such locations are in agricultural locations, often concealed, and on land that is intended to be arable ground.

Organised Activity

Authorities say numerous are managed by organised crime gangs, who are earning cash by asking for far less than licensed companies to accept and bury garbage.

Businesses have to be liable for gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, depending on the volume and type of waste they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Anger

Preparation work to clear the Kidlington area location started recently due to worries over the risk of fire and the effect that would have on the close-by A-road.

A contracted waste removal company has been granted the contract to deal with the area over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the national environment team commented that the authority would be looking to recover the clean-up costs under confiscation acts from any party successfully convicted at the end of its ongoing case.

She further stated that the recent apprehensions would help "push the investigation forward" and allow officials to "investigate more leads to ascertain in detail what happened and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful site at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional assault on our environment and the authorities empathize with the local outrage at this egregious act," she stated.

A cabinet minister praised the actions, commenting: "The unlawful tipping of rubbish at this location is appalling and has led to substantial harm to the environment and upset to the local population.

"Our administration is dedicated to stamping out this category of crime throughout the nation, by increasing funds to tackle environmental crime, hiring more officers and enacting more severe controls and penalties for those who flout the regulations."

The detentions were executed on the specified day by personnel from a regional organised crime squad and come after an earlier arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in last November. He was released pending further inquiries.