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Two men have been detained as part of an inquiry into the tipping of several thousand of tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement stated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous heap of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions occur a week after a prior revelation which revealed the operation of over 500 unauthorized tips across England, including at least 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental authorities commented that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime offences and were a "key step" in continuing probes. The apprehended men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Situation

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to hold around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of garbage is composed of what seems to be processed domestic refuse, shredded plastic items, polystyrene, tyres and various household articles.

It is just one of 517 unlawful sites throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold over 20,000 tonnes of garbage. They encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual figure of such larger locations is probably to be higher, as the environmental body has in the past stated it does not possess records on tonnage for each illegal dump.

Most these sites are in countryside locations, often concealed, and on land that is zoned as arable property.

Organized Enterprise

Police report many are managed by criminal organizations, who are making cash by charging far less than licensed operators to take and dispose of waste.

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

Public Frustration

Preparation efforts to clean up the Kidlington area dump commenced earlier this month following worries over the risk of blaze and the consequences that would have on the nearby highway.

A commercial waste clearance firm has been granted the contract to deal with the site over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the country's regulatory division stated that the authority would be seeking to recover the clearance funds under confiscation acts from any party successfully found guilty at the termination of its active investigation.

She noted that the recent arrests would help "drive the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "investigate more lines of inquiry to determine precisely what transpired and who was involved".

"The illegal site at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional assault on our natural surroundings and officials understand the community's outrage at this egregious offence," she remarked.

A senior representative supported the actions, stating: "This unauthorized deposit of garbage at Kidlington is appalling and has led to significant harm to the environment and distress to the local community.

"The administration is dedicated to eliminating this kind of crime across the UK, by increasing resources to combat environmental crime, recruiting more officers and enacting stricter measures and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The arrests were executed on Thursday by personnel from a specialist serious crime squad and follow an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in November. He was set free subject to further inquiries.