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Two men have been arrested as an element of an investigation into the tipping of thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in the town of Slough in association with the enormous heap of garbage deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a previous report which uncovered the presence of more than 500 unlawful sites across England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental authorities stated that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering crimes and constituted a "crucial step" in active inquiries. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Size of the Situation

The dump in the Kidlington area, located between the River Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to hold about 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of waste is made up of what looks to be sorted residential waste, shredded plastics, polystyrene, tyres and other everyday items.

It represents just one example of 517 unauthorized dumps across England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The actual amount of such major sites is likely to be greater, as the environmental authority has in the past stated it does not possess information on volume for every illegal site.

The majority such locations are in rural settings, often hidden, and on land that is zoned as arable land.

Criminal Enterprise

Law enforcement report a significant number are managed by criminal organizations, who are earning cash by asking for far less than lawful firms to accept and dispose of rubbish.

Businesses have to be liable for site fees to use legitimate disposal sites, contingent on the volume and type of waste they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Outrage

Initial work to remove the Kidlington area site commenced recently due to worries over the potential of fire and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial waste clearance company has been given the task to handle the area over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the country's environment unit stated that the agency would be looking to recover the remediation costs under proceeds of crime acts from any individual prosecuted at the termination of its current investigation.

She added that this week's apprehensions would help "push the probe forward" and enable the agency to "investigate more leads to determine in detail what transpired and who was involved".

"This illegal dump at this location was an appalling and deliberate assault on our environment and we empathize with the local anger at this terrible offence," she remarked.

A senior minister praised the detentions, adding: "The unauthorized dumping of waste at this location is appalling and has led to substantial damage to the environment and anguish to the local residents.

"Our authorities is pledged to eliminating this category of criminality throughout the nation, by increasing funds to tackle waste crime, hiring more officers and enacting more severe controls and sanctions for those who flout the law."

The arrests were made on Thursday by agents from a specialist crime team and come after an prior arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was let go awaiting more enquiries.