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Two men have been detained as a component of an inquiry into the tipping of thousands of metric tons of waste in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in association with the enormous pile of rubbish dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a previous investigation which revealed the existence of more than 500 unauthorized tips throughout the country of England, featuring at least 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the regulatory authorities said that the detentions were for ecological and proceeds of crime violations and constituted a "key step" in continuing investigations. Both men have been set free on bail.

Size of the Problem

The dump in Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34, is believed to hold around 21,000 tonnes of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of waste is consists of what looks to be processed residential refuse, shredded plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tires and other domestic objects.

It represents just one example of 517 unlawful dumps throughout England, at least 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of waste. They include a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The total figure of such bigger sites is likely to be greater, as the regulatory authority has earlier stated it does not maintain records on tonnage for all illegal dump.

A large proportion of such locations are in agricultural areas, typically concealed, and on land that should be agricultural land.

Criminal Activity

Law enforcement say numerous are run by organized crime groups, who are generating money by asking for significantly less than licensed firms to receive and dispose of garbage.

Businesses have to be liable for site fees to use legitimate disposal sites, depending on the volume and nature of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Anger

Initial operations to remove the Kidlington area dump began recently amid concerns over the risk of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by highway.

A private clean-up company has been granted the contract to remediate the site over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the country's environmental crime division commented that the body would be looking to claim back the remediation funds under asset recovery acts from any party successfully found guilty at the termination of its current investigation.

She further stated that this week's arrests would help "push the inquiry forward" and allow authorities to "pursue more avenues to understand exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unauthorized site at this location was an appalling and calculated assault on our ecology and officials understand the local anger at this horrific offence," she stated.

A senior official welcomed the actions, commenting: "This illegal deposit of garbage at this location is appalling and has caused considerable detriment to the ecology and anguish to the local community.

"The government is pledged to eradicating this type of crime across the nation, by augmenting financing to tackle illegal dumping, hiring more officers and implementing more severe checks and fines for those who violate the regulations."

The arrests were carried out on a recent Thursday by personnel from a specialist organised crime team and follow an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in last November. He was released pending more inquiries.