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Two men have been detained as part of an investigation into the tipping of many thousands of metric tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in the town of Slough in connection with the huge pile of garbage tipped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a previous report which exposed the presence of more than 500 illegal dumps throughout England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental body commented that the detentions were for ecological and proceeds of crime offences and represented a "vital step" in active investigations. Both men have been released on bail.

Size of the Issue

The dump in near Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is thought to hold around 21,000 tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of garbage is composed of what looks to be sorted residential refuse, chopped up plastics, polystyrene, tires and other household articles.

It is just a single of 517 unlawful tips throughout the country, at minimum 11 of which contain over 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. They include a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall amount of such bigger locations is probably to be higher, as the regulatory agency has previously acknowledged it does not possess data on weight for each illegal dump.

The majority these sites are in agricultural settings, typically out of sight, and on land that should be arable property.

Organized Enterprise

Authorities say many are managed by organised crime gangs, who are earning profit by charging much less than lawful operators to accept and landfill garbage.

Businesses have to be liable for gate fees to use licensed disposal sites, contingent on the amount and category of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Anger

Initial operations to clear the affected dump commenced recently due to worries over the potential of fire and the effect that would have on the nearby A-road.

A private waste clearance firm has been granted the contract to deal with the site over the next 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the government environment team stated that the agency would be aiming to recover the remediation costs under asset recovery legislation from any individual found guilty at the termination of its current case.

She further stated that these apprehensions would help "move the probe forward" and enable the agency to "pursue more leads to determine in detail what occurred and who was involved".

"This illegal site at the site was an appalling and calculated attack on our ecology and officials share the community's frustration at this horrific offence," she stated.

A cabinet official supported the actions, commenting: "The unlawful deposit of garbage at Kidlington is appalling and has caused considerable harm to the ecology and distress to the surrounding residents.

"The administration is committed to stamping out this category of criminality in the nation, by boosting funds to address waste crime, recruiting more officers and implementing more severe measures and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The arrests were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist serious crime squad and come after an prior apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in last November. He was released awaiting further investigations.