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Two men have been arrested as a component of an investigation into the illegal deposit of thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in relation with the massive mound of garbage dumped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a prior report which uncovered the operation of over 500 illegal dumps throughout the country of England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory authorities stated that the arrests were for ecological and proceeds of crime offences and constituted a "key step" in ongoing inquiries. The two individuals have been set free on bail.

Magnitude of the Issue

The illegal site in Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is estimated to hold approximately 21,000 tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of garbage is made up of what seems to be sorted residential rubbish, fragmented plastic materials, Styrofoam, tyres and assorted everyday objects.

It is just one example of 517 unlawful sites in the country, at minimum 11 of which hold over 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. These encompass a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall amount of such larger sites is likely to be larger, as the environmental agency has previously indicated it does not possess data on volume for each unauthorized site.

Most sites are in agricultural settings, typically out of sight, and on land that is intended to be agricultural property.

Organized Activity

Police report many are run by organized crime groups, who are making profit by charging much less than legitimate firms to take and landfill waste.

Firms have to incur site fees to use lawful landfill sites, depending on the amount and category of material they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Preparatory work to remove the Kidlington dump began earlier this month following concerns over the risk of combustion and the consequences that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been given the job to handle the site over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the national environment team stated that the body would be looking to recover the remediation expenses under asset recovery acts from anyone prosecuted at the termination of its active investigation.

She further stated that this week's apprehensions would help "push the inquiry forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more avenues to ascertain exactly what happened and who was implicated".

"The illegal dump at Kidlington was an appalling and intentional assault on our environment and we share the local frustration at this horrific crime," she said.

A senior representative supported the actions, adding: "This unauthorized tipping of garbage at this location is utterly appalling and has led to significant harm to the environment and upset to the local community.

"Our administration is dedicated to eradicating this kind of criminality in the country, by boosting resources to address illegal dumping, employing more staff and introducing more severe checks and fines for those who flout the rules."

The arrests were carried out on the specified day by officers from a regional serious crime squad and follow an prior arrest of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was let go awaiting further investigations.