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Two individuals have been detained as part of an investigation into the dumping of several thousand of tonnes of rubbish in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in relation with the massive mound of garbage tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions follow a recent revelation which exposed the presence of over 500 illegal dumps across England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental authorities stated that the detentions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime violations and were a "crucial step" in ongoing investigations. Both men have been let go on bail.

Size of the Problem

The illegal site in Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is believed to contain around 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of garbage is made up of what seems to be treated residential rubbish, fragmented plastics, polystyrene, automobile tires and various household items.

It is just one of 517 unlawful dumps across England, at least 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The total figure of such major sites is likely to be greater, as the environment authority has earlier stated it does not maintain data on volume for each unlawful site.

The majority sites are in rural settings, often out of sight, and on land that should be farm land.

Organised Operations

Authorities state numerous are run by criminal organizations, who are generating profit by asking for much less than legitimate firms to receive and landfill garbage.

Companies have to be liable for disposal fees to use lawful landfill sites, depending on the volume and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Initial efforts to clean up the Kidlington location commenced recently due to fears over the risk of combustion and the consequences that would have on the nearby highway.

A commercial waste removal company has been awarded the job to deal with the location over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the country's environmental crime unit stated that the body would be seeking to recoup the clean-up funds under confiscation laws from any individual successfully found guilty at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She further stated that these apprehensions would help "drive the probe forward" and enable officials to "follow more lines of inquiry to understand in detail what occurred and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful dump at this location was an appalling and deliberate attack on our environment and the authorities share the local outrage at this horrific act," she stated.

A government minister welcomed the arrests, commenting: "The unauthorized tipping of waste at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused substantial detriment to the ecology and upset to the surrounding community.

"Our authorities is pledged to eradicating this category of criminality throughout the nation, by boosting funds to tackle environmental crime, recruiting more officers and introducing tougher controls and penalties for those who violate the rules."

The detentions were carried out on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist organised crime team and come after an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in last November. He was let go pending further investigations.