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Two individuals have been detained as a component of an investigation into the tipping of thousands of metric tons of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough in connection with the huge heap of rubbish tipped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a prior report which exposed the presence of over 500 illegal sites in England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environmental authorities commented that the detentions were for ecological and financial crimes and constituted a "key step" in active investigations. The apprehended men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Issue

The illegal site in near Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to house around 21,000 tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of garbage is made up of what seems to be processed residential refuse, shredded plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tyres and assorted domestic articles.

It represents just one of 517 unlawful tips throughout England, at minimum 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The total amount of such larger dumps is likely to be higher, as the environmental agency has in the past acknowledged it does not possess information on volume for all illegal site.

A large proportion of such locations are in rural areas, often out of sight, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Criminal Activity

Authorities report many are operated by organized crime groups, who are generating profit by charging much less than lawful companies to take and landfill waste.

Businesses have to be liable for disposal fees to use lawful disposal sites, based on the quantity and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Anger

Preparation efforts to clear the Kidlington site commenced in recent weeks due to worries over the threat of combustion and the impact that would have on the adjacent major road.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been granted the task to deal with the location over the following 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the country's environment team stated that the agency would be looking to recover the remediation expenses under proceeds of crime laws from anyone convicted at the end of its active investigation.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "push the inquiry forward" and permit the agency to "pursue more leads to determine in detail what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The illegal dump at this location was an atrocious and calculated assault on our natural surroundings and the authorities share the community's outrage at this horrific act," she stated.

A senior representative supported the detentions, commenting: "The illegal tipping of rubbish at this location is disgraceful and has resulted in significant detriment to the natural world and distress to the local community.

"Our administration is committed to eradicating this kind of crime in the country, by boosting financing to combat waste crime, hiring more staff and implementing more severe checks and fines for those who violate the rules."

The apprehensions were made on Thursday by agents from a regional crime squad and are in addition to an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in last November. He was released pending more investigations.