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A pair of individuals have been arrested as an element of an investigation into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of refuse in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities reported that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough, Berkshire in association with the enormous pile of rubbish tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests occur a week after a prior investigation which uncovered the operation of over 500 unlawful dumps in England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental agency stated that the apprehensions were for environmental and financial offences and were a "vital step" in continuing probes. Both men have been set free on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to hold around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

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

It represents just a single of 517 unauthorized tips across England, at minimum 11 of which contain more than 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The total number of such larger dumps is likely to be higher, as the environmental body has in the past acknowledged it does not hold data on volume for every unlawful tip.

Most such locations are in countryside locations, frequently out of sight, and on land that should be arable property.

Criminal Enterprise

Police state many are run by organised crime gangs, who are earning money by charging far less than legitimate companies to receive and landfill waste.

Firms have to be liable for gate fees to use licensed disposal sites, contingent on the volume and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Outrage

Preparation efforts to clear the Kidlington location started recently amid worries over the risk of blaze and the impact that would have on the close-by A-road.

A contracted clean-up firm has been awarded the job to deal with the site over the next 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the country's environment team stated that the body would be aiming to claim back the clearance funds under confiscation acts from any party successfully convicted at the end of its ongoing case.

She noted that the recent detentions would help "push the inquiry forward" and allow authorities to "follow more leads to determine precisely what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This illegal tip at the site was an atrocious and deliberate attack on our environment and officials empathize with the public's outrage at this horrific offence," she stated.

A cabinet official supported the detentions, adding: "The illegal dumping of waste at this location is utterly appalling and has led to significant harm to the environment and anguish to the nearby residents.

"Our authorities is committed to stamping out this kind of crime in the nation, by increasing resources to combat environmental crime, recruiting more personnel and enacting tougher controls and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The arrests were made on the specified day by agents from a specialist organised crime unit and come after an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in November. He was let go subject to more investigations.