🔗 Share this article

A pair of individuals have been arrested as part of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tons of refuse in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in association with the massive heap of garbage dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a recent revelation which revealed the operation of in excess of 500 unauthorized tips throughout England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environmental authorities stated that the arrests were for ecological and financial offences and represented a "key step" in active inquiries. The apprehended men have been released on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Situation

The dump in near Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to contain approximately 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of garbage is consists of what appears to be processed domestic rubbish, shredded plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tyres and assorted domestic objects.

It is just one example of 517 unlawful tips throughout England, at minimum 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of waste. Such sites 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 tip in Kent.

The total amount of such bigger dumps is likely to be greater, as the environmental authority has earlier stated it does not possess records on weight for each unlawful dump.

Most sites are in rural locations, often out of sight, and on land that should be arable land.

Organised Activity

Authorities report numerous are operated by organized crime groups, who are generating money by charging significantly less than licensed firms to take and landfill garbage.

Firms have to incur disposal fees to use licensed disposal sites, contingent on the quantity and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Outrage

Preparatory efforts to clear the Kidlington dump began earlier this month amid worries over the threat of blaze and the impact that would have on the close-by major road.

A private waste removal contractor has been given the contract to deal with the location over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the government regulatory division stated that the authority would be looking to recoup the clearance costs under asset recovery legislation from any individual successfully found guilty at the end of its current case.

She further stated that these detentions would help "push the investigation forward" and enable the agency to "pursue more avenues to ascertain exactly what occurred and who was a party to it".

"The illegal dump at Kidlington was an shocking and deliberate attack on our environment and we empathize with the public's frustration at this horrific act," she remarked.

A government minister welcomed the arrests, stating: "This unlawful tipping of garbage at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has led to significant damage to the environment and anguish to the surrounding community.

"Our authorities is committed to eradicating this kind of crime throughout the country, by boosting financing to address environmental crime, hiring more personnel and implementing more severe checks and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were made on Thursday by personnel from a regional crime team and are in addition to an previous arrest of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in November. He was let go awaiting further inquiries.