Detentions Executed in Link to Supersized Unlawful Waste Site

Two men have been arrested as an element of an probe into the dumping of several thousand of tonnes of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in connection with the massive pile of waste tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions follow a prior revelation which exposed the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps in England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environment authorities stated that the detentions were for environment-related and money laundering offences and were a "vital step" in continuing investigations. The apprehended men have been let go on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Situation

The dump in Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to contain about 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of waste is made up of what seems to be treated residential refuse, shredded plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tyres and various everyday articles.

It constitutes just one of 517 unauthorized sites across the country, at least 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of garbage. They include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The overall figure of such bigger locations is expected to be larger, as the environmental body has earlier indicated it does not possess data on volume for all unauthorized site.

The majority these sites are in agricultural areas, frequently concealed, and on land that is intended to be agricultural land.

Organized Activity

Authorities state many are run by organised crime gangs, who are earning cash by demanding far less than legitimate firms to accept and bury garbage.

Companies have to pay disposal fees to use lawful landfill sites, based on the amount and category of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Initial work to clean up the Kidlington dump commenced earlier this month following concerns over the potential of fire and the effect that would have on the nearby A-road.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been awarded the contract to remediate the area over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the government environmental crime unit said that the agency would be looking to recover the clearance expenses under proceeds of crime legislation from any party found guilty at the conclusion of its ongoing case.

She noted that this week's detentions would help "push the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "investigate more avenues to ascertain precisely what transpired and who was involved".

"This illegal dump at this location was an atrocious and calculated affront on our natural surroundings and we understand the community's outrage at this terrible act," she stated.

A government minister supported the detentions, stating: "This unauthorized tipping of waste at the site is disgraceful and has resulted in significant damage to the natural world and distress to the local population.

"Our authorities is committed to eliminating this category of illegal activity across the nation, by increasing funds to address illegal dumping, recruiting more staff and introducing stricter controls and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The arrests were carried out on the specified day by agents from a dedicated organised crime team and follow an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in last November. He was let go pending further inquiries.