Arrests Made in Relation to Supersized Unauthorized Waste Site

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

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in association with the huge heap of garbage deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions follow a prior investigation which revealed the presence of over 500 unlawful dumps across England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environment body commented that the apprehensions were for environmental and money laundering offences and constituted a "crucial step" in active investigations. The two individuals have been released on bail.

Size of the Situation

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

This heap of rubbish is made up of what appears to be treated household rubbish, fragmented plastic items, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and other household items.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unauthorized sites across England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tonnes of waste. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual number of such major locations is expected to be greater, as the environment body has earlier indicated it does not hold information on tonnage for every unlawful tip.

Most sites are in rural settings, frequently out of sight, and on land that should be farm land.

Organized Operations

Law enforcement say numerous are run by organised crime gangs, who are generating profit by asking for significantly less than lawful firms to receive and landfill garbage.

Companies have to pay disposal fees to use licensed waste facilities, contingent on the amount and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Frustration

Preparation efforts to clean up the Kidlington location started recently amid concerns over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial waste removal firm has been awarded the contract to handle the location over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the national regulatory unit commented that the agency would be aiming to recover the remediation funds under asset recovery acts from anyone prosecuted at the termination of its current inquiry.

She further stated that these arrests would help "move the investigation forward" and enable officials to "pursue more lines of inquiry to determine precisely what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unauthorized dump at this location was an atrocious and deliberate affront on our ecology and the authorities empathize with the community's frustration at this terrible offence," she remarked.

A cabinet representative welcomed the detentions, stating: "This illegal dumping of garbage at the site is appalling and has resulted in substantial detriment to the ecology and upset to the surrounding residents.

"The administration is dedicated to stamping out this category of crime throughout the UK, by increasing financing to address environmental crime, employing more officers and implementing stricter checks and sanctions for those who violate the law."

The apprehensions were executed on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist crime team and are in addition to an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in last November. He was set free awaiting further investigations.