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Two men have been detained as a component of an investigation into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities reported that a man in his late sixties was detained at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in association with the huge mound of waste deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests come after a recent report which exposed the presence of more than 500 unlawful tips across England, including at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environment authorities commented that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime offences and constituted a "key step" in continuing investigations. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Magnitude of the Problem

The tipping ground in Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34, is believed to house about 21,000 tonnes of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of rubbish is composed of what looks to be processed residential waste, chopped up plastic materials, polystyrene, automobile tires and various everyday articles.

It is just a single of 517 unauthorized dumps in England, at least 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. These include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual number of such larger locations is probably to be larger, as the environment body has previously stated it does not hold records on volume for each unauthorized site.

The majority these sites are in agricultural settings, often concealed, and on land that should be farm ground.

Criminal Enterprise

Police state numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are making cash by charging much less than licensed firms to accept and bury waste.

Businesses have to be liable for disposal fees to use legitimate landfill sites, based on the volume and nature of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Anger

Initial efforts to clean up the Kidlington dump commenced earlier this month following concerns over the potential of blaze and the consequences that would have on the nearby major road.

A contracted waste clearance firm has been given the job to handle the site over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the country's regulatory division stated that the body would be aiming to claim back the clearance costs under asset recovery laws from any individual convicted at the termination of its ongoing inquiry.

She further stated that these apprehensions would help "drive the inquiry forward" and allow officials to "pursue more avenues to ascertain precisely what occurred and who was involved".

"This unlawful site at Kidlington was an atrocious and deliberate attack on our natural surroundings and officials share the public's outrage at this egregious crime," she remarked.

A government official supported the actions, commenting: "This illegal deposit of rubbish at Kidlington is appalling and has led to considerable damage to the ecology and anguish to the nearby community.

"The government is committed to eradicating this kind of illegal activity in the nation, by increasing financing to combat waste crime, hiring more personnel and enacting more severe measures and fines for those who violate the regulations."

The detentions were made on Thursday by officers from a dedicated serious crime team and are in addition to an previous apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in last November. He was released awaiting more enquiries.