🔗 Share this article

Two individuals have been taken into custody as part of an inquiry into the tipping of thousands of tonnes of refuse in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a residence in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough in connection with the massive mound of rubbish dumped near Kidlington.

These detentions follow a prior revelation which uncovered the existence of more than 500 unlawful tips in England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory authorities stated that the detentions were for environmental and money laundering offences and represented a "crucial step" in continuing probes. The apprehended men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Problem

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to hold about 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of garbage is made up of what looks to be sorted residential waste, fragmented plastic items, polystyrene, tires and various everyday objects.

It is just a single of 517 illegal sites across the country, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual amount of such major locations is likely to be higher, as the environmental agency has in the past indicated it does not hold information on tonnage for each illegal dump.

Most such locations are in agricultural settings, typically out of sight, and on land that is zoned as arable land.

Criminal Activity

Police say numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are earning money by charging much less than lawful operators to take and bury rubbish.

Companies have to incur disposal fees to use legitimate landfill sites, depending on the quantity and nature of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Outrage

Preparatory operations to clear the Kidlington area site started recently amid concerns over the threat of fire and the impact that would have on the adjacent major road.

A commercial waste clearance contractor has been given the contract to deal with the site over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the government regulatory division said that the agency would be looking to claim back the clean-up costs under confiscation acts from any individual prosecuted at the termination of its active case.

She added that the recent detentions would help "drive the probe forward" and enable officials to "follow more leads to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful dump at Kidlington was an atrocious and calculated attack on our environment and we empathize with the local frustration at this terrible act," she said.

A senior minister welcomed the detentions, adding: "The illegal dumping of waste at the site is disgraceful and has caused significant detriment to the environment and anguish to the local population.

"The administration is pledged to eradicating this type of illegal activity throughout the UK, by boosting financing to address waste crime, employing more staff and enacting tougher measures and penalties for those who violate the rules."

The apprehensions were made on the specified day by agents from a dedicated serious crime unit and come after an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in last November. He was released pending further enquiries.