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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of thousands of tonnes of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in the town of Slough in connection with the huge pile of waste tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests come after a prior revelation which revealed the existence of over 500 unauthorized tips across the country of England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environmental authorities stated that the apprehensions were for ecological and proceeds of crime crimes and were a "key step" in active probes. The apprehended men have been let go on bail.

Size of the Problem

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to contain approximately 21,000 tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of waste is consists of what seems to be processed household rubbish, chopped up plastic items, Styrofoam, automobile tires and assorted household articles.

It represents just a single of 517 unauthorized sites in England, at minimum 11 of which contain over 20,000 tons of waste. They encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The total number of such larger locations is likely to be larger, as the environment agency has previously stated it does not possess information on tonnage for every unauthorized tip.

Most such locations are in rural locations, often out of sight, and on land that is intended to be farm ground.

Organized Activity

Law enforcement state numerous are run by criminal organizations, who are earning profit by charging much less than licensed firms to take and landfill rubbish.

Companies have to pay disposal fees to use legitimate waste facilities, contingent on the amount and nature of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Preparation operations to clear the affected dump began earlier this month following concerns over the risk of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A contracted clean-up contractor has been awarded the job to deal with the location over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the country's environment team commented that the body would be looking to recoup the clearance funds under confiscation laws from any party successfully prosecuted at the termination of its active investigation.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "move the investigation forward" and permit authorities to "follow more avenues to ascertain precisely what happened and who was a party to it".

"This illegal dump at the site was an shocking and calculated affront on our environment and officials understand the local frustration at this terrible crime," she said.

A government official welcomed the arrests, adding: "This unauthorized dumping of rubbish at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has caused considerable harm to the ecology and anguish to the local population.

"Our authorities is committed to eliminating this kind of illegal activity throughout the country, by augmenting resources to combat illegal dumping, employing more staff and enacting tougher controls and fines for those who violate the regulations."

The arrests were carried out on the specified day by personnel from a regional organised crime squad and are in addition to an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was released awaiting further investigations.