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Two men have been detained as an element of an probe into the dumping of thousands of metric tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials reported that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough in connection with the enormous heap of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These arrests come after a previous revelation which revealed the operation of over 500 unlawful sites across England, featuring at least 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory authorities commented that the detentions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime offences and constituted a "key step" in ongoing inquiries. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Size of the Problem

The tipping ground in Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is thought to contain about 21,000 tonnes of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of waste is made up of what seems to be sorted residential rubbish, fragmented plastic items, Styrofoam, tyres and assorted everyday objects.

It is just one of 517 illegal sites across the country, at a minimum of 11 of which contain more than 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. These include a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall amount of such major sites is expected to be larger, as the regulatory authority has previously stated it does not possess data on tonnage for all unlawful dump.

The majority these sites are in rural areas, typically concealed, and on land that should be farm property.

Organized Enterprise

Authorities state many are run by criminal organizations, who are generating profit by charging far less than legitimate companies to accept and bury rubbish.

Companies have to pay gate fees to use lawful landfill sites, contingent on the amount and type of refuse they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Outrage

Preparation work to clean up the Kidlington area dump started recently due to concerns over the potential of combustion and the impact that would have on the nearby major road.

A private clean-up firm has been awarded the contract to deal with the site over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the national environment team stated that the body would be aiming to recoup the clean-up expenses under asset recovery acts from any party successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its current investigation.

She noted that this week's detentions would help "push the investigation forward" and enable officials to "pursue more lines of inquiry to ascertain precisely what happened and who was implicated".

"This unauthorized tip at Kidlington was an shocking and deliberate affront on our ecology and the authorities understand the community's anger at this terrible crime," she said.

A government official praised the actions, commenting: "This unlawful deposit of garbage at Kidlington is appalling and has caused substantial detriment to the ecology and anguish to the nearby residents.

"The government is committed to eliminating this category of illegal activity across the nation, by increasing resources to combat illegal dumping, hiring more staff and enacting more severe checks and sanctions for those who violate the regulations."

The detentions were made on the specified day by personnel from a regional organised crime team and are in addition to an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in November. He was released awaiting additional investigations.