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Two men have been arrested as a component of an inquiry into the dumping of thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in relation with the enormous pile of waste tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions occur a week after a previous investigation which revealed the presence of more than 500 illegal sites throughout the country of England, including at least 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the environment authorities stated that the detentions were for environmental and proceeds of crime offences and constituted a "vital step" in ongoing inquiries. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Scale of the Problem

The illegal site in near Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is estimated to hold about 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of rubbish is composed of what appears to be sorted residential waste, chopped up plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tyres and other everyday articles.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unlawful dumps throughout the country, at least 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The overall amount of such larger sites is probably to be larger, as the environment agency has earlier stated it does not possess data on tonnage for each unlawful dump.

The majority these sites are in rural areas, frequently concealed, and on land that is intended to be agricultural property.

Organised Activity

Law enforcement state numerous are operated by organized crime groups, who are generating profit by asking for much less than legitimate companies to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Firms have to be liable for site fees to use licensed landfill sites, based on the quantity and type of waste they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Outrage

Preparatory operations to remove the Kidlington dump started in recent weeks following fears over the potential of fire and the effect that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A private clean-up contractor has been awarded the contract to deal with the location over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the country's environmental crime team said that the body would be seeking to recoup the clearance expenses under confiscation legislation from any individual convicted at the conclusion of its active inquiry.

She added that this week's arrests would help "push the probe forward" and permit the agency to "pursue more avenues to ascertain in detail what happened and who was involved".

"This illegal dump at the site was an appalling and deliberate affront on our ecology and the authorities understand the community's anger at this egregious act," she stated.

A cabinet representative supported the arrests, commenting: "The unauthorized deposit of garbage at this location is appalling and has caused considerable detriment to the ecology and upset to the nearby community.

"The government is committed to eradicating this type of illegal activity throughout the country, by augmenting financing to combat illegal dumping, employing more personnel and enacting stricter controls and fines for those who break the law."

The arrests were carried out on a recent Thursday by personnel from a regional crime unit and come after an earlier arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in last November. He was released pending more investigations.