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Two individuals have been detained as part of an investigation into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tonnes of waste in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials reported that a man in his late sixties was detained at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in connection with the enormous heap of garbage dumped near Kidlington.

These detentions follow a previous investigation which exposed the presence of over 500 unauthorized tips in England, including at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory authorities commented that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering offences and represented a "vital step" in continuing investigations. The two individuals have been released on bail.

Size of the Issue

The illegal site in near Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to contain approximately 21,000 tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of rubbish is composed of what looks to be sorted household refuse, chopped up plastic items, Styrofoam, tyres and assorted household items.

It is just a single of 517 illegal sites across England, at least 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total figure of such major sites is expected to be higher, as the regulatory authority has earlier acknowledged it does not maintain data on volume for every unlawful dump.

A large proportion of these sites are in countryside areas, frequently concealed, and on land that is intended to be arable property.

Organized Activity

Police state numerous are run by organised crime gangs, who are generating profit by asking for far less than licensed companies to take and bury waste.

Companies have to incur site fees to use lawful landfill sites, based on the quantity and category of waste they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Frustration

Initial work to clean up the affected site commenced recently due to concerns over the threat of blaze and the impact that would have on the nearby major road.

A private waste clearance company has been given the task to deal with the area over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the government environmental crime division stated that the body would be seeking to recover the clearance costs under asset recovery laws from anyone convicted at the conclusion of its current case.

She further stated that these apprehensions would help "push the inquiry forward" and enable the agency to "investigate more avenues to determine in detail what occurred and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful dump at this location was an shocking and calculated assault on our ecology and the authorities understand the public's frustration at this terrible offence," she stated.

A government representative supported the arrests, adding: "This unauthorized deposit of waste at this location is appalling and has caused considerable damage to the natural world and upset to the nearby community.

"Our government is dedicated to eradicating this kind of illegal activity across the nation, by boosting financing to tackle environmental crime, recruiting more staff and implementing tougher controls and fines for those who break the law."

The arrests were carried out on Thursday by agents from a dedicated crime team and follow an prior arrest of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in last November. He was released awaiting further inquiries.