Arrests Made in Relation to Massive Illegal Waste Site
Two individuals have been arrested as a component of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.
Law enforcement indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in connection with the massive pile of waste tipped near Kidlington.
These detentions occur a week after a prior revelation which exposed the existence of over 500 illegal dumps in England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.
A official for the regulatory body stated that the apprehensions were for environment-related and money laundering offences and were a "crucial step" in active probes. Both men have been released on bail.
Magnitude of the Problem
The illegal site in Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to hold around 21,000 tonnes of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.
This mound of rubbish is consists of what looks to be processed residential refuse, fragmented plastic materials, Styrofoam, tires and other everyday objects.
It represents just a single of 517 unlawful sites across England, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. These include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.
The actual figure of such major dumps is expected to be larger, as the environment authority has in the past stated it does not possess data on volume for each illegal dump.
A large proportion of these sites are in countryside settings, typically out of sight, and on land that is zoned as agricultural property.
Organized Activity
Authorities say numerous are run by criminal organizations, who are making profit by demanding far less than legitimate firms to take and bury waste.
Businesses have to incur site fees to use lawful landfill sites, depending on the amount and category of material they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.
Local Outrage
Preparatory work to clear the Kidlington area site commenced recently amid concerns over the threat of combustion and the consequences that would have on the nearby highway.
A private waste clearance company has been granted the task to remediate the area over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.
An enforcement manager for the government environmental crime team stated that the body would be seeking to recoup the clean-up expenses under confiscation laws from any individual ultimately found guilty at the end of its current case.
She further stated that the recent apprehensions would help "push the investigation forward" and allow officials to "pursue more avenues to understand precisely what happened and who was a party to it".
"This unauthorized dump at Kidlington was an shocking and calculated affront on our ecology and the authorities empathize with the public's outrage at this terrible act," she remarked.
A senior official supported the detentions, adding: "This illegal tipping of garbage at the site is appalling and has resulted in significant harm to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding community.
"The authorities is pledged to stamping out this category of criminality throughout the country, by augmenting resources to combat waste crime, recruiting more personnel and enacting stricter measures and sanctions for those who break the regulations."
The apprehensions were carried out on a recent Thursday by officers from a regional crime squad and follow an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in last November. He was released awaiting more inquiries.
