IT Engineer's Lost Bitcoin Hard Drive Remains Unrecoverable As Landfill Closure Approaches

According to Odaily, an IT engineer named James Howells inadvertently discarded a hard drive containing 7,500 bitcoins, now valued at approximately $750 million or £620 million, in a landfill located in Newport, Wales. The landfill is scheduled for closure between 2025 and 2026. Howells' attempts to sue the city council for access to the site or compensation have been unsuccessful. The city council plans to close the landfill, which has been in use since the early 2000s, and repurpose part of the land for a solar power facility. This initiative aims to support the city's growing fleet of electric garbage trucks, as they transition away from diesel vehicles.