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Two men have been arrested as a component of an probe into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of waste in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was detained at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in the town of Slough in relation with the enormous pile of waste tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a recent revelation which revealed the existence of over 500 unauthorized dumps throughout England, including at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory authorities commented that the arrests were for ecological and proceeds of crime offences and represented a "vital step" in continuing inquiries. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Size of the Situation

The tipping ground in Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to hold about 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of waste is consists of what seems to be sorted domestic refuse, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, automobile tires and other domestic articles.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unauthorized tips across England, at minimum 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tons of waste. These encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The total number of such larger locations is probably to be higher, as the regulatory agency has earlier stated it does not possess data on volume for every unlawful tip.

Most such locations are in countryside settings, often hidden, and on land that is zoned as arable land.

Criminal Activity

Law enforcement state a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are generating cash by asking for significantly less than legitimate operators to take and bury waste.

Businesses have to incur gate fees to use licensed landfill sites, contingent on the volume and nature of waste they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Anger

Initial operations to remove the Kidlington area site commenced recently following concerns over the threat of blaze and the consequences that would have on the nearby major road.

A contracted clean-up firm has been granted the task to deal with the site over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the national environment team said that the agency would be seeking to claim back the clearance costs under proceeds of crime acts from anyone ultimately prosecuted at the end of its active case.

She noted that this week's arrests would help "drive the investigation forward" and enable the agency to "follow more leads to determine in detail what occurred and who was implicated".

"This unauthorized tip at the site was an atrocious and calculated assault on our natural surroundings and the authorities share the community's outrage at this terrible act," she said.

A senior representative praised the actions, stating: "The unauthorized dumping of waste at the site is utterly appalling and has caused considerable detriment to the ecology and anguish to the nearby community.

"The government is pledged to eliminating this kind of crime across the nation, by augmenting resources to combat environmental crime, employing more personnel and introducing more severe checks and fines for those who break the regulations."

The arrests were carried out on Thursday by personnel from a regional crime squad and come after an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was let go awaiting more investigations.