Detentions Made in Link to Enormous Unauthorized Waste Site

Two individuals have been taken into custody as part of an inquiry into the dumping of several thousand of tonnes of waste in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in connection with the huge pile of waste deposited near Kidlington.

These detentions occur a week after a previous report which revealed the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful tips in the country of England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment agency commented that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering offences and represented a "vital step" in active probes. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Issue

The dump in the Kidlington area, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to contain around 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what appears to be sorted residential waste, shredded plastic materials, polystyrene, tyres and assorted everyday objects.

It represents just a single of 517 unauthorized tips in the country, at minimum 11 of which contain over 20,000 tons of waste. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The total number of such major sites is likely to be larger, as the regulatory agency has previously indicated it does not possess records on volume for every unauthorized dump.

The majority such locations are in rural areas, frequently hidden, and on land that should be arable property.

Organized Operations

Authorities state numerous are run by criminal organizations, who are earning profit by demanding significantly less than lawful firms to accept and bury rubbish.

Businesses have to incur gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, based on the volume and type of material they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Outrage

Preparation operations to clean up the affected site commenced in recent weeks amid concerns over the potential of blaze and the effect that would have on the nearby A-road.

A commercial waste clearance contractor has been awarded the job to remediate the area over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the government environment team stated that the agency would be aiming to recover the clearance expenses under proceeds of crime legislation from any party successfully found guilty at the end of its ongoing inquiry.

She added that this week's detentions would help "push the investigation forward" and enable the agency to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand in detail what happened and who was a party to it".

"The unauthorized dump at the site was an shocking and calculated assault on our ecology and the authorities share the local anger at this terrible act," she said.

A cabinet minister welcomed the detentions, stating: "The unlawful dumping of rubbish at this location is appalling and has caused substantial harm to the environment and distress to the nearby community.

"The government is dedicated to stamping out this category of criminality throughout the country, by boosting resources to address illegal dumping, employing more staff and enacting more severe measures and fines for those who violate the rules."

The detentions were executed on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist serious crime squad and come after an previous detention of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was let go awaiting further enquiries.