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Two men have been arrested as a component of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in the town of Slough in connection with the massive pile of rubbish deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests come after a prior report which uncovered the presence of in excess of 500 illegal tips in England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the environmental body stated that the detentions were for ecological and financial violations and were a "key step" in continuing investigations. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Problem

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34, is believed to house about 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of waste is made up of what looks to be sorted domestic rubbish, shredded plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted everyday objects.

It represents just a single of 517 illegal dumps in England, at minimum 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tons of rubbish. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual figure of such bigger dumps is likely to be greater, as the environment authority has in the past stated it does not possess data on volume for all unauthorized site.

A large proportion of sites are in agricultural settings, frequently concealed, and on land that is zoned as farm land.

Organized Operations

Police report many are operated by organised crime gangs, who are making profit by charging much less than legitimate companies to accept and landfill rubbish.

Firms have to incur gate fees to use legitimate landfill sites, depending on the amount and type of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Frustration

Preparation operations to remove the affected dump began in recent weeks amid worries over the threat of combustion and the effect that would have on the close-by major road.

A private clean-up firm has been awarded the contract to handle the area over the coming 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the country's environment division stated that the agency would be aiming to recoup the remediation expenses under proceeds of crime laws from any party ultimately found guilty at the conclusion of its active case.

She noted that this week's apprehensions would help "push the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "investigate more lines of inquiry to ascertain in detail what occurred and who was involved".

"The unauthorized tip at this location was an shocking and deliberate affront on our ecology and we understand the local anger at this terrible crime," she stated.

A senior official praised the actions, adding: "This unlawful dumping of garbage at Kidlington is disgraceful and has led to substantial damage to the environment and distress to the surrounding residents.

"The authorities is committed to eliminating this category of crime in the nation, by boosting financing to combat environmental crime, employing more officers and introducing stricter controls and fines for those who flout the rules."

The apprehensions were made on the specified day by personnel from a dedicated crime team and come after an prior detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in last November. He was set free subject to more investigations.