Detentions Carried Out in Connection to Enormous Unlawful Waste Site

A pair of individuals have been detained as an element of an investigation into the dumping of several thousand of tons of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in connection with the huge heap of waste dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions occur a week after a recent revelation which uncovered the presence of more than 500 unlawful sites in England, including at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental agency commented that the arrests were for ecological and financial violations and constituted a "crucial step" in active investigations. The apprehended men have been released on pre-trial release.

Size of the Situation

The dump in near Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34, is believed to house approximately 21,000 tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of waste is composed of what looks to be treated household waste, shredded plastics, expanded polystyrene, tires and other everyday articles.

It is just one example of 517 illegal dumps throughout the country, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 tonnes of waste. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total amount of such major locations is probably to be larger, as the environmental authority has in the past indicated it does not possess records on tonnage for every unlawful tip.

A large proportion of such locations are in countryside settings, often hidden, and on land that should be agricultural ground.

Organised Enterprise

Police state many are run by organized crime groups, who are making cash by charging much less than licensed operators to accept and bury garbage.

Companies have to pay gate fees to use licensed waste facilities, depending on the amount and type of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Anger

Preparation work to remove the Kidlington dump began earlier this month following worries over the risk of blaze and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial waste removal firm has been granted the task to remediate the area over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the government environment division stated that the agency would be seeking to recoup the clearance funds under confiscation legislation from any party ultimately prosecuted at the conclusion of its active case.

She added that these arrests would help "push the inquiry forward" and enable authorities to "investigate more leads to ascertain exactly what occurred and who was implicated".

"This unauthorized site at Kidlington was an atrocious and calculated attack on our ecology and the authorities share the local outrage at this egregious offence," she said.

A cabinet official welcomed the detentions, commenting: "The illegal deposit of waste at the site is appalling and has led to significant detriment to the natural world and distress to the surrounding residents.

"Our administration is pledged to eliminating this kind of criminality throughout the nation, by boosting financing to combat waste crime, employing more staff and implementing more severe checks and fines for those who violate the regulations."

The detentions were made on Thursday by agents from a specialist crime unit and are in addition to an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was released awaiting more investigations.