Arrests Executed in Connection to Enormous Unauthorized Rubbish Dump
A pair of individuals have been arrested as part of an probe into the tipping of many thousands of metric tons of refuse in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.
Law enforcement stated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in association with the enormous pile of garbage deposited near the area of Kidlington.
These apprehensions come after a recent report which exposed the presence of over 500 illegal dumps across England, including at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tons.
A spokeswoman for the environmental authorities commented that the detentions were for environmental and financial offences and were a "key step" in active inquiries. The apprehended men have been released on conditional release.
Size of the Issue
The tipping ground in Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to contain about 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.
This heap of waste is composed of what looks to be processed household waste, chopped up plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tires and other everyday objects.
It is just one of 517 unauthorized sites in the country, at minimum 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. These feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.
The overall amount of such larger dumps is probably to be larger, as the regulatory body has previously acknowledged it does not hold data on tonnage for each illegal tip.
A large proportion of such locations are in countryside locations, frequently out of sight, and on land that is zoned as farm land.
Organized Operations
Law enforcement say many are operated by criminal organizations, who are making money by charging significantly less than licensed operators to take and landfill waste.
Companies have to be liable for disposal fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the quantity and category of material they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.
Public Outrage
Preparation work to remove the affected location commenced earlier this month following worries over the threat of combustion and the effect that would have on the nearby A-road.
A contracted waste removal company has been given the contract to deal with the site over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.
An investigations manager for the national environment team stated that the agency would be seeking to recover the remediation costs under asset recovery legislation from any party prosecuted at the termination of its ongoing case.
She noted that these apprehensions would help "move the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more avenues to determine precisely what transpired and who was involved".
"This unauthorized site at Kidlington was an atrocious and calculated affront on our environment and officials empathize with the community's outrage at this horrific offence," she said.
A government representative praised the detentions, commenting: "The unlawful dumping of waste at Kidlington is appalling and has led to significant harm to the environment and upset to the nearby community.
"The administration is committed to eradicating this category of criminality throughout the UK, by augmenting funds to combat environmental crime, hiring more personnel and implementing more severe controls and sanctions for those who flout the regulations."
The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by personnel from a regional serious crime squad and follow an earlier apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area area in last November. He was let go subject to additional inquiries.