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Two individuals have been arrested as part of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of waste in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in relation with the enormous pile of garbage dumped near Kidlington.

These detentions occur a week after a previous investigation which revealed the existence of over 500 unlawful dumps throughout England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environmental body said that the apprehensions were for ecological and financial offences and constituted a "key step" in active probes. The two individuals have been released on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Problem

The dump in Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to hold around 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of rubbish is consists of what seems to be sorted domestic rubbish, chopped up plastic materials, polystyrene, tires and assorted everyday objects.

It represents just one example of 517 unlawful tips across England, at minimum 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. They encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall amount of such bigger dumps is probably to be larger, as the environmental body has earlier acknowledged it does not possess data on volume for each unauthorized site.

Most these sites are in countryside locations, often out of sight, and on land that is zoned as farm land.

Criminal Enterprise

Police state numerous are managed by criminal organizations, who are generating cash by charging significantly less than legitimate firms to take and landfill waste.

Firms have to pay gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, contingent on the volume and type of waste they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Anger

Preparation operations to clean up the Kidlington area location began earlier this month amid fears over the potential of fire and the consequences that would have on the adjacent major road.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been given the job to deal with the area over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the government environment team commented that the agency would be aiming to recoup the remediation expenses under asset recovery laws from any individual ultimately found guilty at the conclusion of its current inquiry.

She noted that the recent apprehensions would help "push the investigation forward" and permit officials to "follow more avenues to understand exactly what happened and who was a party to it".

"The illegal tip at this location was an atrocious and deliberate assault on our natural surroundings and officials understand the community's outrage at this horrific crime," she remarked.

A government official supported the arrests, commenting: "The unlawful tipping of rubbish at this location is utterly appalling and has resulted in significant detriment to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding community.

"The authorities is dedicated to stamping out this category of criminality across the nation, by increasing financing to address waste crime, hiring more staff and enacting more severe controls and sanctions for those who flout the law."

The apprehensions were carried out on a recent Thursday by officers from a dedicated organised crime team and follow an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in November. He was let go pending additional enquiries.