Arrests Made in Link to Massive Unauthorized Waste Site
Two men have been taken into custody as part of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of thousands of metric tons of refuse in a open field in the county of 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 Slough in connection with the enormous pile of rubbish tipped near Kidlington.
These detentions follow a previous revelation which revealed the existence of more than 500 unauthorized dumps in England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.
A spokeswoman for the regulatory authorities stated that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime violations and constituted a "vital step" in continuing investigations. The apprehended men have been let go on pre-trial release.
Scale of the Situation
The dump in the Kidlington area, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to house approximately 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.
This mound of rubbish is consists of what seems to be sorted residential waste, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and various household items.
It constitutes just one of 517 unlawful tips in England, at minimum 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of rubbish. These encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.
The overall amount of such major locations is probably to be higher, as the regulatory body has in the past indicated it does not hold data on weight for all illegal tip.
Most such locations are in countryside areas, frequently hidden, and on land that is intended to be arable land.
Organized Enterprise
Police say a significant number are run by organised crime gangs, who are generating profit by asking for significantly less than lawful companies to receive and landfill rubbish.
Firms have to pay gate fees to use lawful waste facilities, depending on the volume and type of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.
Public Anger
Initial operations to clean up the Kidlington area dump commenced earlier this month following fears over the risk of combustion and the consequences that would have on the nearby A-road.
A contracted clean-up contractor has been awarded the contract to handle the site over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.
An enforcement manager for the national environmental crime division said that the agency would be seeking to recoup the remediation expenses under confiscation laws from any party successfully found guilty at the conclusion of its current investigation.
She added that the recent apprehensions would help "move the investigation forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more lines of inquiry to understand precisely what transpired and who was implicated".
"The unlawful tip at this location was an atrocious and intentional affront on our environment and the authorities empathize with the local frustration at this egregious act," she said.
A senior representative praised the actions, stating: "The unlawful dumping of waste at the site is disgraceful and has caused considerable damage to the environment and anguish to the local population.
"Our administration is committed to eliminating this kind of illegal activity across the nation, by increasing financing to tackle illegal dumping, employing more personnel and enacting tougher controls and penalties for those who break the rules."
The detentions were carried out on the specified day by officers from a regional serious crime unit and come after an previous arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area area in the autumn. He was released pending additional investigations.
