A UK landfill at the heart of a man’s quest to recover a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin is reportedly scheduled to close. https://www.coinlive.com/news/decade-old-tale-of-british-man-s-buried-8-000-btc-and-his
Located in Newport, Wales—just east of Cardiff—the site is expected to cease operations in the 2025-26 financial year.
A Newport council spokesperson explained:
“The landfill has been in exploitation since the early 2000s and is coming to the end of its life, therefore the council is working on a planned closure and capping of the site over the next two years.”
The local council has already obtained planning permission to convert part of the area into a solar farm, with approval granted in August.
Docks Way landfill site in Wales
The landfill site in Newport, Wales, is believed to hold a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin, accidentally discarded in 2013 by local IT worker James Howells after his former partner mistakenly threw it out.
Howells claims the Bitcoin, mined in 2009, is now worth approximately $768 million.
For over a decade, he has battled Newport Council in court, seeking permission to excavate the landfill in exchange for a share of the recovered Bitcoin or compensation for his loss.
In January, his case was dismissed, with the judge ruling that he had "no realistic prospect" of success at trial.
Howells argued that AI technology could locate the hard drive without cost to the council or public, but in October, the council cited environmental regulations that prohibit excavation due to potential harm to the surrounding area.
The lost Bitcoin represents a fraction of the estimated 3 million coins—around 13% of the total supply—believed to be irretrievably lost, according to Web3 executive Al Leong.
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