🔗 Share this article

Two individuals have been detained as a component of an probe into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tons of refuse in a field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in relation with the enormous mound of waste deposited near Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a recent investigation which revealed the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful sites throughout England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the regulatory agency commented that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering violations and were a "key step" in continuing investigations. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Problem

The dump in the Kidlington area, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to contain about 21,000 tonnes of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of waste is made up of what looks to be sorted household rubbish, chopped up plastic items, polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted everyday objects.

It represents just a single of 517 unlawful sites in England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 tons of rubbish. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall figure of such larger locations is likely to be larger, as the environmental authority has earlier acknowledged it does not possess records on tonnage for every unauthorized tip.

A large proportion of these sites are in countryside areas, often out of sight, and on land that is zoned as agricultural land.

Criminal Activity

Authorities report numerous are managed by organised crime gangs, who are making money by charging significantly less than licensed companies to accept and landfill garbage.

Businesses have to be liable for gate fees to use licensed landfill sites, contingent on the quantity and type of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Frustration

Initial work to remove the Kidlington location commenced in recent weeks due to fears over the risk of fire and the effect that would have on the adjacent major road.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been given the job to deal with the area over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the country's regulatory division commented that the authority would be seeking to recoup the clean-up expenses under asset recovery legislation from any party successfully prosecuted at the termination of its current case.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "push the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more lines of inquiry to ascertain precisely what occurred and who was involved".

"The unauthorized dump at Kidlington was an atrocious and intentional attack on our environment and the authorities understand the local outrage at this horrific crime," she said.

A government representative supported the arrests, commenting: "This unauthorized dumping of rubbish at this location is disgraceful and has led to considerable detriment to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding residents.

"The government is pledged to eliminating this type of crime in the nation, by increasing resources to address environmental crime, recruiting more staff and enacting tougher checks and penalties for those who flout the rules."

The detentions were executed on Thursday by agents from a dedicated organised crime unit and are in addition to an previous apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in November. He was let go pending additional investigations.