Apprehensions Made in Relation to Supersized Illegal Rubbish Dump

Two individuals have been taken into custody as part of an probe into the tipping of many thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities indicated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous heap of rubbish dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests occur a week after a recent report which uncovered the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful sites in England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environment body said that the apprehensions were for environmental and financial crimes and represented a "vital step" in ongoing investigations. Both men have been let go on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Problem

The illegal site in near Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is estimated to house around 21,000 tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of garbage is consists of what seems to be treated domestic refuse, shredded plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and other everyday articles.

It is just one example of 517 unauthorized dumps in the country, at least 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tons of waste. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The total amount of such bigger dumps is expected to be higher, as the environment authority has earlier stated it does not possess information on tonnage for all unauthorized tip.

Most sites are in countryside areas, frequently concealed, and on land that is zoned as farm ground.

Criminal Operations

Police report a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are generating cash by asking for significantly less than lawful operators to take and dispose of waste.

Companies have to pay disposal fees to use lawful waste facilities, depending on the quantity and type of waste they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Outrage

Preparation work to remove the affected site started in recent weeks amid worries over the threat of fire and the effect that would have on the close-by A-road.

A contracted waste clearance company has been awarded the job to deal with the location over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the national regulatory team commented that the authority would be aiming to recoup the clean-up costs under confiscation acts from any party successfully convicted at the conclusion of its current inquiry.

She added that these apprehensions would help "move the probe forward" and allow authorities to "pursue more lines of inquiry to ascertain in detail what transpired and who was involved".

"The illegal site at this location was an atrocious and intentional assault on our ecology and we share the public's anger at this horrific act," she remarked.

A government official praised the arrests, adding: "This unauthorized deposit of garbage at Kidlington is appalling and has led to considerable damage to the natural world and anguish to the nearby residents.

"The government is dedicated to stamping out this category of illegal activity in the nation, by increasing resources to combat illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and implementing more severe checks and sanctions for those who flout the rules."

The detentions were executed on the specified day by officers from a regional serious crime team and come after an earlier arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford region in November. He was set free subject to further enquiries.