Apprehensions Carried Out in Link to Supersized Illegal Waste Site

Two men have been detained as part of an investigation into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in association with the huge pile of garbage tipped near Kidlington.

These detentions follow a recent investigation which exposed the existence of over 500 unlawful tips in England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the regulatory body stated that the detentions were for environmental and financial crimes and were a "vital step" in ongoing investigations. The apprehended men have been set free on conditional release.

Scale of the Issue

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, located between the Cherwell River and the A34, is believed to hold approximately 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of waste is made up of what appears to be sorted household refuse, fragmented plastic materials, polystyrene, tires and assorted domestic objects.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unlawful sites throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of garbage. These feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total number of such bigger dumps is expected to be larger, as the regulatory agency has previously stated it does not possess data on tonnage for every illegal dump.

The majority such locations are in rural locations, frequently concealed, and on land that is intended to be agricultural land.

Organised Activity

Police say a significant number are managed by organised crime gangs, who are making cash by asking for far less than licensed firms to accept and landfill rubbish.

Firms have to pay disposal fees to use lawful landfill sites, based on the volume and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Frustration

Preparatory efforts to clear the Kidlington location started in recent weeks due to worries over the threat of combustion and the effect that would have on the close-by highway.

A contracted waste clearance company has been granted the job to handle the location over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the national environment unit stated that the body would be seeking to recoup the remediation costs under confiscation legislation from any individual successfully found guilty at the termination of its active investigation.

She noted that these arrests would help "move the probe forward" and enable the agency to "pursue more avenues to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was implicated".

"This illegal dump at the site was an appalling and intentional affront on our ecology and the authorities share the local anger at this horrific crime," she said.

A senior minister welcomed the detentions, commenting: "This unauthorized tipping of rubbish at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has caused considerable damage to the natural world and distress to the local residents.

"Our authorities is committed to stamping out this category of criminality across the country, by increasing financing to tackle environmental crime, hiring more officers and implementing tougher measures and penalties for those who violate the law."

The detentions were executed on a recent Thursday by officers from a dedicated serious crime team and follow an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in last November. He was released pending more investigations.