🔗 Share this article

Two individuals have been taken into custody as part of an investigation into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tonnes of refuse in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in association with the massive heap of rubbish deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions occur a week after a prior report which uncovered the presence of over 500 illegal sites in the country of England, including at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environment body commented that the arrests were for ecological and money laundering crimes and represented a "key step" in active probes. The apprehended men have been set free on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The dump in near Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is thought to house about 21,000 metric tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of rubbish is consists of what appears to be processed domestic waste, chopped up plastic materials, polystyrene, tyres and other household items.

It is just one example of 517 unauthorized sites throughout England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. They feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall number of such major dumps is probably to be larger, as the environmental agency has previously acknowledged it does not hold data on volume for all unauthorized tip.

The majority sites are in rural areas, often hidden, and on land that is intended to be farm land.

Organized Operations

Authorities report a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are generating money by asking for much less than licensed firms to receive and bury rubbish.

Businesses have to pay site fees to use lawful disposal sites, depending on the quantity and category of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Outrage

Preparation operations to clear the Kidlington area site started earlier this month following concerns over the risk of combustion and the impact that would have on the adjacent major road.

A commercial waste removal company has been granted the job to handle the site over the following 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the national environmental crime team said that the body would be seeking to claim back the clean-up expenses under proceeds of crime laws from anyone found guilty at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She further stated that these apprehensions would help "push the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more avenues to understand exactly what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This unauthorized tip at this location was an shocking and calculated assault on our ecology and the authorities understand the local anger at this egregious crime," she said.

A government minister praised the actions, stating: "The unlawful dumping of garbage at the site is disgraceful and has led to considerable detriment to the natural world and upset to the nearby community.

"The administration is dedicated to eradicating this kind of criminality in the UK, by increasing financing to tackle waste crime, recruiting more officers and introducing stricter measures and penalties for those who flout the rules."

The detentions were executed on the specified day by personnel from a regional serious crime team and follow an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in last November. He was let go awaiting more enquiries.