🔗 Share this article

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

Officials indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in association with the huge pile of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions come after a previous investigation which revealed the existence of more than 500 unauthorized tips across England, including at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the regulatory body stated that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering violations and were a "crucial step" in continuing probes. The two individuals have been set free on bail.

Size of the Issue

The dump in the Kidlington area, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to hold around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of garbage is composed of what looks to be sorted household refuse, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, automobile tires and other household items.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unauthorized sites throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold more than 20,000 metric tons of waste. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The total amount of such major locations is likely to be larger, as the regulatory agency has earlier stated it does not hold data on tonnage for each unauthorized tip.

The majority such locations are in countryside locations, often out of sight, and on land that is intended to be farm property.

Criminal Activity

Law enforcement state many are managed by organised crime gangs, who are generating cash by asking for much less than lawful companies to take and dispose of rubbish.

Firms have to incur site fees to use licensed disposal sites, based on the volume and type of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Preparation work to clean up the Kidlington dump began in recent weeks due to fears over the potential of combustion and the consequences that would have on the nearby A-road.

A contracted clean-up firm has been given the task to remediate the area over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the government environmental crime division commented that the body would be looking to recover the clean-up costs under asset recovery acts from any individual ultimately found guilty at the termination of its active inquiry.

She added that the recent detentions would help "push the probe forward" and permit authorities to "investigate more leads to determine exactly what transpired and who was implicated".

"The unlawful site at Kidlington was an atrocious and deliberate assault on our environment and the authorities share the community's outrage at this terrible offence," she said.

A government official supported the arrests, commenting: "The unlawful deposit of rubbish at Kidlington is disgraceful and has resulted in significant damage to the natural world and distress to the surrounding population.

"The administration is committed to eliminating this kind of crime in the UK, by boosting funds to address waste crime, hiring more officers and implementing tougher checks and penalties for those who break the rules."

The arrests were executed on the specified day by agents from a regional crime team and are in addition to an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in November. He was released pending further enquiries.