🔗 Share this article

Two men have been arrested as part of an probe into the tipping of thousands of metric tons of waste in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was detained at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in association with the enormous pile of waste dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous investigation which uncovered the presence of over 500 illegal dumps across England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental body said that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering violations and represented a "crucial step" in continuing probes. Both men have been set free on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, located between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to hold approximately 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of rubbish is composed of what looks to be sorted household waste, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, automobile tires and assorted household objects.

It is just a single of 517 illegal sites across the country, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of waste. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall figure of such bigger locations is expected to be greater, as the regulatory body has previously acknowledged it does not maintain data on weight for every illegal site.

The majority such locations are in rural locations, typically out of sight, and on land that is zoned as arable land.

Criminal Operations

Law enforcement report many are operated by criminal organizations, who are earning profit by charging much less than licensed companies to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Firms have to pay gate fees to use lawful waste facilities, depending on the volume and nature of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Anger

Preparation efforts to remove the affected location commenced recently due to concerns over the threat of combustion and the consequences that would have on the close-by highway.

A contracted clean-up contractor has been given the job to remediate the site over the following 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the national environmental crime division stated that the authority would be looking to recover the clean-up costs under confiscation legislation from any party found guilty at the conclusion of its active investigation.

She noted that the recent apprehensions would help "move the probe forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more leads to determine in detail what happened and who was implicated".

"This unlawful dump at Kidlington was an appalling and intentional affront on our environment and we share the public's anger at this horrific offence," she remarked.

A government representative welcomed the detentions, adding: "This illegal dumping of waste at this location is disgraceful and has resulted in considerable damage to the environment and anguish to the nearby residents.

"Our administration is committed to eradicating this type of criminality throughout the nation, by boosting funds to combat environmental crime, hiring more officers and introducing stricter measures and penalties for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by officers from a specialist organised crime team and come after an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was set free awaiting more inquiries.