🔗 Share this article

A pair of individuals have been detained as part of an probe into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tons of waste in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in association with the massive mound of rubbish deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions come after a previous investigation which uncovered the operation of over 500 unlawful tips across England, including at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental authorities commented that the arrests were for ecological and money laundering violations and were a "key step" in ongoing probes. Both men have been released on conditional release.

Scale of the Situation

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to house about 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of rubbish is consists of what looks to be sorted household waste, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and various everyday objects.

It constitutes just a single of 517 illegal sites across the country, at a minimum of 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tons of waste. These encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall amount of such major sites is probably to be larger, as the environmental body has previously stated it does not possess records on volume for every unauthorized site.

Most sites are in countryside locations, frequently out of sight, and on land that is intended to be arable property.

Organised Enterprise

Law enforcement say many are managed by criminal organizations, who are generating cash by asking for far less than legitimate companies to take and landfill garbage.

Businesses have to pay disposal fees to use legitimate disposal sites, contingent on the amount and type of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Frustration

Initial efforts to clear the Kidlington site began earlier this month due to concerns over the potential of fire and the effect that would have on the nearby major road.

A contracted clean-up company has been given the contract to remediate the area over the following 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the country's environment team said that the agency would be aiming to recoup the clean-up expenses under confiscation acts from any party ultimately convicted at the conclusion of its active case.

She further stated that these detentions would help "move the inquiry forward" and enable officials to "follow more lines of inquiry to determine precisely what occurred and who was involved".

"The unlawful site at the site was an appalling and deliberate assault on our ecology and we understand the local outrage at this terrible offence," she said.

A cabinet representative welcomed the detentions, adding: "This illegal tipping of garbage at the site is appalling and has caused considerable damage to the ecology and anguish to the nearby residents.

"Our administration is dedicated to eradicating this category of criminality across the nation, by augmenting financing to combat illegal dumping, employing more personnel and introducing tougher controls and penalties for those who break the law."

The apprehensions were carried out on Thursday by officers from a dedicated crime unit and come after an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was set free pending more enquiries.