🔗 Share this article

A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tonnes of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in relation with the huge pile of waste tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a recent investigation which uncovered the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful tips across England, including at least 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environmental authorities stated that the apprehensions were for ecological and financial offences and were a "key step" in continuing investigations. The apprehended men have been let go on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The tipping ground in Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34, is estimated to contain approximately 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of garbage is composed of what appears to be treated household rubbish, shredded plastic materials, Styrofoam, automobile tires and various household items.

It constitutes just one example of 517 illegal tips across England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. 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 dump in Kent.

The actual number of such bigger dumps is likely to be larger, as the environment authority has previously stated it does not possess data on weight for every unauthorized tip.

Most sites are in agricultural settings, frequently hidden, and on land that should be agricultural ground.

Organized Activity

Police state many are operated by organized crime groups, who are making money by asking for much less than legitimate operators to take and bury rubbish.

Businesses have to pay gate fees to use lawful landfill sites, contingent on the quantity and type of material they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Preparatory operations to clean up the Kidlington site started in recent weeks following worries over the potential of fire and the effect that would have on the nearby major road.

A private clean-up contractor has been awarded the contract to remediate the area over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the government environment unit stated that the agency would be seeking to recoup the clean-up funds under confiscation acts from any individual found guilty at the end of its current case.

She added that these apprehensions would help "drive the investigation forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more leads to determine exactly what happened and who was involved".

"The unlawful dump at the site was an appalling and calculated assault on our environment and the authorities empathize with the local outrage at this terrible offence," she said.

A cabinet minister welcomed the detentions, commenting: "This illegal dumping of waste at this location is disgraceful and has resulted in significant detriment to the environment and anguish to the local residents.

"The government is pledged to stamping out this type of crime throughout the UK, by augmenting financing to combat environmental crime, recruiting more staff and enacting stricter controls and penalties for those who violate the law."

The apprehensions were carried out on a recent Thursday by officers from a dedicated crime squad and are in addition to an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in November. He was set free subject to additional investigations.