🔗 Share this article

Two individuals have been detained as a component of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of tons of refuse in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the enormous pile of waste deposited near Kidlington.

These detentions occur a week after a previous investigation which uncovered the operation of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps across England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental authorities said that the arrests were for environmental and proceeds of crime offences and constituted a "vital step" in ongoing probes. The two individuals have been released on conditional release.

Size of the Situation

The dump in near Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34, is believed to contain approximately 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of waste is consists of what looks to be treated residential waste, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, tires and other household objects.

It represents just one of 517 unauthorized tips across England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tons of garbage. They feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The total figure of such major sites is probably to be greater, as the environment body has in the past acknowledged it does not hold data on weight for all unauthorized tip.

A large proportion of such locations are in agricultural locations, often out of sight, and on land that should be farm land.

Organized Operations

Law enforcement say many are managed by criminal organizations, who are earning money by demanding far less than licensed firms to receive and bury garbage.

Firms have to be liable for disposal fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the amount and nature of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Anger

Preparation efforts to remove the affected location commenced recently amid worries over the potential of fire and the consequences that would have on the nearby highway.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been awarded the contract to remediate the area over the following 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the government environmental crime division stated that the body would be seeking to recover the clean-up costs under asset recovery acts from any individual successfully prosecuted at the end of its active inquiry.

She added that these detentions would help "move the investigation forward" and allow officials to "pursue more avenues to understand precisely what occurred and who was involved".

"The illegal site at Kidlington was an appalling and intentional assault on our ecology and the authorities share the community's frustration at this egregious offence," she stated.

A senior representative welcomed the detentions, stating: "The unlawful tipping of garbage at the site is appalling and has caused substantial detriment to the ecology and anguish to the local community.

"The government is committed to eradicating this kind of illegal activity throughout the country, by augmenting financing to combat waste crime, recruiting more officers and enacting stricter measures and fines for those who flout the law."

The detentions were executed on Thursday by personnel from a regional serious crime squad and are in addition to an previous detention of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in November. He was set free awaiting further enquiries.