🔗 Share this article

Two men have been detained as an element of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of several thousand of metric tons of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in the town of Slough in relation with the huge mound of waste tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions occur a week after a previous revelation which revealed the operation of more than 500 unauthorized tips throughout England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory agency stated that the detentions were for environment-related and financial violations and represented a "key step" in ongoing investigations. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Problem

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

This heap of garbage is composed of what seems to be sorted domestic rubbish, chopped up plastic materials, Styrofoam, tires and other domestic items.

It constitutes just a single of 517 illegal dumps throughout England, at least 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne site 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 dumps is likely to be higher, as the environment agency has earlier stated it does not possess records on weight for all unauthorized dump.

Most sites are in agricultural locations, typically hidden, and on land that should be arable land.

Organised Operations

Police state many are managed by criminal organizations, who are earning cash by asking for much less than lawful companies to take and bury waste.

Companies have to be liable for site fees to use legitimate landfill sites, depending on the volume and type of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Outrage

Preparation operations to remove the Kidlington site began earlier this month amid fears over the threat of combustion and the effect that would have on the close-by major road.

A contracted waste removal company has been granted the job to remediate the site over the following 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the national environment division stated that the agency would be seeking to recoup the clearance costs under confiscation acts from any individual successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing case.

She further stated that the recent apprehensions would help "drive the probe forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more avenues to determine exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful site at this location was an atrocious and deliberate affront on our ecology and officials understand the community's outrage at this horrific crime," she said.

A senior representative supported the arrests, stating: "The unlawful deposit of rubbish at the site is utterly appalling and has led to considerable detriment to the environment and distress to the nearby residents.

"Our authorities is pledged to eradicating this type of illegal activity in the nation, by boosting financing to tackle environmental crime, employing more officers and introducing more severe measures and sanctions for those who violate the law."

The detentions were made on Thursday by agents from a specialist crime unit and follow an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in the autumn. He was released subject to more inquiries.