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A pair of individuals have been arrested as a component of an probe into the dumping of thousands of metric tons of refuse in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough in association with the huge pile of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous revelation which exposed the existence of over 500 unauthorized dumps across England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environment authorities said that the apprehensions were for ecological and proceeds of crime violations and constituted a "vital step" in continuing investigations. The two individuals have been set free on bail.

Magnitude of the Situation

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to house around 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of garbage is consists of what appears to be treated residential refuse, fragmented plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tires and other domestic objects.

It represents just one example of 517 illegal sites in the country, at a minimum of 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of garbage. These feature a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual number of such bigger sites is probably to be higher, as the regulatory body has in the past acknowledged it does not possess records on volume for every illegal tip.

The majority these sites are in rural areas, often out of sight, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Organised Enterprise

Police report a significant number are managed by criminal organizations, who are generating money by demanding much less than lawful companies to take and dispose of garbage.

Firms have to be liable for disposal fees to use licensed waste facilities, depending on the volume and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Frustration

Initial efforts to clean up the Kidlington site commenced earlier this month due to fears over the risk of combustion and the effect that would have on the close-by highway.

A commercial waste clearance company has been awarded the contract to handle the area over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the country's regulatory unit commented that the authority would be looking to claim back the remediation expenses under asset recovery legislation from any party ultimately convicted at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She noted that the recent apprehensions would help "push the probe forward" and allow officials to "follow more lines of inquiry to determine precisely what occurred and who was involved".

"This unauthorized site at the site was an appalling and calculated attack on our natural surroundings and officials understand the community's outrage at this egregious act," she stated.

A cabinet official supported the arrests, commenting: "This illegal deposit of rubbish at the site is disgraceful and has caused substantial detriment to the natural world and upset to the nearby community.

"Our administration is pledged to stamping out this category of crime throughout the nation, by increasing financing to combat waste crime, hiring more staff and enacting tougher controls and sanctions for those who violate the law."

The arrests were made on Thursday by agents from a specialist serious crime unit and are in addition to an prior detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was let go awaiting additional inquiries.