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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an inquiry into the dumping of several thousand of tonnes of waste in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in relation with the enormous mound of waste tipped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous revelation which exposed the operation of in excess of 500 unauthorized dumps throughout the country of England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment body commented that the arrests were for environmental and financial violations and were a "key step" in ongoing investigations. The apprehended men have been released on conditional release.

Scale of the Situation

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to contain about 21,000 tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what seems to be treated domestic refuse, shredded plastic items, Styrofoam, tyres and various household objects.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unauthorized sites throughout England, at minimum 11 of which contain over 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. These feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall figure of such larger dumps is likely to be larger, as the regulatory authority has earlier indicated it does not possess information on tonnage for every unauthorized site.

The majority such locations are in agricultural settings, often out of sight, and on land that is intended to be arable property.

Organized Activity

Law enforcement report a significant number are operated by organized crime groups, who are earning cash by charging significantly less than licensed firms to receive and dispose of waste.

Businesses have to pay gate fees to use legitimate disposal sites, based on the volume and type of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Anger

Initial work to remove the affected location commenced in recent weeks following fears over the risk of blaze and the consequences that would have on the nearby A-road.

A contracted waste removal firm has been given the task to handle the area over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the country's regulatory division commented that the authority would be looking to claim back the remediation costs under confiscation legislation from any party ultimately found guilty at the conclusion of its active investigation.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "push the investigation forward" and enable officials to "follow more leads to ascertain exactly what happened and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful site at the site was an atrocious and deliberate affront on our ecology and we empathize with the local frustration at this terrible crime," she stated.

A cabinet official praised the actions, commenting: "This unauthorized tipping of rubbish at the site is appalling and has led to considerable damage to the natural world and upset to the nearby community.

"Our administration is dedicated to stamping out this type of criminality throughout the nation, by augmenting resources to address waste crime, recruiting more staff and enacting more severe checks and penalties for those who break the law."

The apprehensions were carried out on Thursday by agents from a dedicated organised crime unit and are in addition to an prior detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in November. He was let go awaiting additional enquiries.