A 39-year-old man has been was arrested as part of an investigation into the large-scale, illegal dumping of waste near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.
The Environment Agency said a 39-year-old man from the Guildford area has been arrested in connection with the incident and remains in custody.
Several hundred tonnes of waste were dumped over the summer on a site between the River Cherwell and the A34 near Kidlington, Oxfordshire. The mountain of waste is approximately 150 metres long, 10 metres wide, and 6 metres high.
The Prime Minister called the situation ‘utterly appalling’ and said the Environment Agency would use all available powers to ensure that the perpetrators cover the cost of cleaning up the waste.
The investigation into the incident is led by the Environment Agency’s National Environmental Crime Unit in coordination with Oxfordshire County Council, Thames Valley Police, and National Highways.
Commenting on the arrest, Anna Burns, the Environment Agency’s Area Director for The Thames, said: “We have been working round the clock with the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit to bring the perpetrators to justice and make them pay for this offence.”
“Our investigative efforts have secured an arrest today, which will be the first step in delivering justice for residents and punishing those responsible.”
The tipping appears to be mostly processed domestic waste, as well as shredded plastics, polystyrene, and tyres. Reports suggest there is evidence of waste originating from primary schools and local authorities in south-east England, which may point to large-scale corruption.
Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs at the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), Dan Cooke, told the BBC that criminals could have made well over £500,000 from dumping the waste.
Cherwell District Council says it first became aware of illegal activity on the site in June and contacted the Environment Agency, which conducted a site visit in July.
The Environment Agency issued a cease-and-desist letter to the landowner that month and the regulator later secured a court order to close all public access to the site and prevent further tipping on 23 October.
The 16-week gap between the cease-and-desist letter and the court order has led to criticism from inside the waste sector and from environmental law experts.
On Friday, the regulator agreed on a plan for using additional protective barriers to minimise waste moving into the river if heavy rainfall occurs.
The Environment Agency says it is now installing large sandbags between the waste pile and the river, and securing the site with Heras fencing to prevent entry to what is now an active crime scene.
CIWM and its sector partners have announced they will publish a position statement shortly that includes practicable actions that government, regulators and sector stakeholders can take to tackle waste crime more urgently.