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Two men have been taken into custody as part of an probe into the tipping of several thousand of tons of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement stated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in connection with the huge heap of rubbish dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions occur a week after a recent report which exposed the presence of more than 500 unauthorized dumps throughout England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment authorities commented that the apprehensions were for environmental and financial violations and constituted a "vital step" in continuing investigations. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Size of the Issue

The dump in the Kidlington area, located between the Cherwell River and the A34, is estimated to contain about 21,000 tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of waste is composed of what seems to be treated residential rubbish, shredded plastic materials, Styrofoam, tires and various domestic objects.

It represents just one of 517 illegal dumps throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain more than 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. These encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The actual amount of such major locations is probably to be higher, as the environment authority has previously indicated it does not maintain information on volume for all illegal site.

Most these sites are in countryside settings, frequently hidden, and on land that should be farm ground.

Organised Operations

Police state many are managed by organized crime groups, who are generating profit by charging significantly less than lawful companies to accept and dispose of garbage.

Businesses have to incur site fees to use legitimate disposal sites, contingent on the quantity and nature of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Frustration

Preparation efforts to remove the Kidlington dump started in recent weeks due to concerns over the risk of fire and the impact that would have on the nearby highway.

A contracted clean-up firm has been given the job to deal with the area over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the country's regulatory team stated that the agency would be seeking to recover the remediation expenses under confiscation legislation from any individual successfully found guilty at the termination of its ongoing investigation.

She noted that these apprehensions would help "push the inquiry forward" and enable the agency to "pursue more avenues to determine in detail what transpired and who was involved".

"The illegal tip at Kidlington was an atrocious and calculated attack on our ecology and the authorities empathize with the community's outrage at this horrific act," she remarked.

A cabinet minister welcomed the detentions, stating: "This illegal dumping of garbage at the site is utterly appalling and has led to considerable harm to the environment and distress to the nearby community.

"Our authorities is pledged to eradicating this type of crime across the country, by increasing resources to address environmental crime, employing more officers and introducing stricter measures and penalties for those who break the regulations."

The detentions were carried out on a recent Thursday by personnel from a specialist organised crime squad and are in addition to an previous apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in last November. He was let go pending more investigations.