🔗 Share this article

Two men have been taken into custody as a component of an probe into the dumping of several thousand of metric tons of refuse in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in relation with the massive heap of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These arrests come after a prior investigation which exposed the presence of in excess of 500 unauthorized sites throughout England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment authorities stated that the apprehensions were for environment-related and money laundering violations and represented a "crucial step" in ongoing inquiries. The apprehended men have been released on conditional release.

Scale of the Situation

The dump in Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34, is thought to hold approximately 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of garbage is consists of what appears to be sorted residential rubbish, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, tires and various domestic articles.

It represents just one example of 517 unauthorized dumps in England, at least 11 of which hold over 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total figure of such bigger sites is probably to be larger, as the environmental authority has in the past indicated it does not hold information on tonnage for all illegal tip.

A large proportion of such locations are in agricultural settings, typically hidden, and on land that is intended to be farm ground.

Organised Activity

Police say numerous are run by organised crime gangs, who are earning money by charging much less than lawful operators to receive and landfill waste.

Businesses have to incur disposal fees to use lawful landfill sites, contingent on the amount and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Outrage

Preparatory efforts to clear the Kidlington site started earlier this month following fears over the risk of combustion and the consequences that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A commercial waste clearance contractor has been given the task to deal with the location over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the country's environmental crime team stated that the authority would be looking to recover the clean-up costs under confiscation acts from anyone successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its current investigation.

She further stated that this week's apprehensions would help "move the probe forward" and allow authorities to "pursue more avenues to determine exactly what happened and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful site at this location was an appalling and calculated assault on our environment and we empathize with the public's frustration at this egregious offence," she remarked.

A cabinet official welcomed the arrests, stating: "The illegal deposit of waste at the site is appalling and has led to considerable detriment to the ecology and distress to the surrounding population.

"Our government is pledged to eliminating this type of illegal activity in the UK, by boosting financing to combat environmental crime, employing more staff and introducing more severe controls and penalties for those who break the rules."

The arrests were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a regional crime unit and come after an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in November. He was released pending additional investigations.