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Two men have been arrested as an element of an probe into the dumping of many thousands of tonnes of waste in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in association with the massive pile of rubbish tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a recent revelation which revealed the presence of over 500 unlawful sites in England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environment body said that the apprehensions were for environment-related and money laundering offences and represented a "key step" in active inquiries. The apprehended men have been let go on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Problem

The illegal site in Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to house about 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of garbage is consists of what looks to be processed domestic waste, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, tyres and other everyday objects.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unauthorized dumps throughout England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 tons of waste. They include a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual amount of such bigger dumps is probably to be greater, as the environmental authority has earlier stated it does not hold records on tonnage for every unauthorized tip.

Most these sites are in countryside settings, often out of sight, and on land that should be arable property.

Organised Enterprise

Police say numerous are run by organized crime groups, who are generating money by demanding far less than lawful companies to accept and landfill garbage.

Companies have to incur site fees to use legitimate waste facilities, depending on the quantity and category of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Frustration

Initial efforts to remove the Kidlington site commenced recently following fears over the risk of combustion and the consequences that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial waste clearance company has been awarded the job to remediate the area over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the country's environment team stated that the authority would be aiming to recover the clean-up expenses under proceeds of crime acts from anyone successfully found guilty at the conclusion of its current inquiry.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "drive the probe forward" and enable officials to "pursue more avenues to ascertain exactly what happened and who was involved".

"This unlawful dump at Kidlington was an shocking and deliberate assault on our natural surroundings and the authorities empathize with the public's frustration at this terrible act," she said.

A cabinet official supported the arrests, commenting: "This illegal dumping of garbage at this location is disgraceful and has caused considerable detriment to the environment and anguish to the surrounding community.

"The authorities is dedicated to stamping out this category of criminality in the UK, by increasing funds to tackle waste crime, hiring more personnel and introducing more severe checks and sanctions for those who violate the regulations."

The apprehensions were carried out on Thursday by personnel from a specialist crime unit and are in addition to an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was set free awaiting more investigations.