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Two men have been arrested as an element of an investigation into the dumping of thousands of tons of waste in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials reported 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, Berkshire in relation with the massive heap of garbage tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

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

A official for the environmental authorities stated that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime crimes and represented a "key step" in continuing probes. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Problem

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

This mound of rubbish is made up of what appears to be sorted domestic refuse, shredded plastic items, Styrofoam, tyres and various household articles.

It is just one example of 517 unauthorized tips throughout England, at least 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total figure of such major dumps is likely to be higher, as the regulatory authority has in the past acknowledged it does not hold data on volume for all unlawful tip.

The majority sites are in agricultural locations, often out of sight, and on land that is zoned as agricultural land.

Criminal Enterprise

Law enforcement report many are operated by criminal organizations, who are making money by asking for far less than licensed firms to take and dispose of garbage.

Firms have to incur disposal fees to use lawful waste facilities, contingent on the volume and category of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Frustration

Initial work to remove the affected location started earlier this month amid fears over the risk of blaze and the impact that would have on the nearby major road.

A contracted waste clearance firm has been granted the job to handle the area over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the national environmental crime division stated that the authority would be looking to claim back the clean-up costs under confiscation laws from any individual successfully found guilty at the end of its active case.

She added that the recent arrests would help "push the inquiry forward" and enable the agency to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand in detail what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful site at this location was an shocking and calculated attack on our environment and officials understand the community's outrage at this terrible act," she stated.

A cabinet official welcomed the detentions, stating: "The unlawful deposit of rubbish at the site is appalling and has caused considerable damage to the environment and distress to the local residents.

"The government is pledged to stamping out this category of illegal activity throughout the country, by augmenting funds to tackle environmental crime, employing more staff and enacting stricter measures and fines for those who violate the regulations."

The apprehensions were carried out on Thursday by personnel from a regional serious crime team and come after an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in November. He was let go awaiting further enquiries.