James Howells, a former Bitcoin miner who accidentally lost a hard drive containing thousands of bitcoins worth more than half a billion dollars, has made multiple attempts to recover it. He initially requested permission from the Newport City Council in Wales to search the landfill where he believes the hard drive is buried, but his request was denied. He later took legal action, attempting to sue the city council to gain access, but a UK court rejected his case.
Now, he is considering an alternative approach—purchasing the landfill outright in hopes of reclaiming his lost fortune.
After years of legal battles and multiple failed attempts to gain access to the site, Howells says he has spoken with investment partners about purchasing the Newport landfill outright. “It is very much on the table,” he said.
The site contains over 1.4 million tonnes of waste, but Howells believes the hard drive is buried within 100,000 tonnes of that.
Legal battles and the city’s repeated rejections
Howells has spent over a decade petitioning Newport City Council to allow him to search the landfill. He initially offered the city 25 percent of the recovered Bitcoin’s value to invest in community projects, later reducing the offer to 10 percent after repeated denials.
After being turned down ten times, he took the city council to court, seeking either access to the site or £495 million (nearly $600 million) in compensation.
In January 2025, a UK judge dismissed his case, ruling that too much time had passed since the hard drive was lost. The court also determined that the device became the property of the city when it entered the landfill in 2013.
James Howells threw away $750 million of bitcoin accidentally a decade ago and has been trying to recover the hard drive from a landfill ever since. Today, a judge has rejected his latest attempt to search through 110,000 tons of garbage for his digital gold. pic.twitter.com/douIDzDdQO
— Documenting ₿itcoin 📄 (@DocumentingBTC) January 11, 2025
Despite the legal setbacks, Howells remains determined to recover his lost bitcoins and is now considering an appeal.
The costly mistake that led to a fortune in the trash
The saga began in 2009 when he mined 8,000 bitcoins, drawn to cryptocurrency following the 2008 financial crisis. At the time, Bitcoin was worth only a few dollars. The hard drive containing his private key sat in a drawer at his home.
In 2013, while upgrading his computer, Howells placed the drive in a plastic bag. His former partner later threw it into a landfill dumpster, unaware of its value.
Since then, Bitcoin’s price has soared. As of today, it sits at an all-time high, with Howells’ lost hard drive now worth around $750 million. Some estimates suggest that by 2026, the value of the lost bitcoins could reach $1 billion.
Clashes with Newport City Council
Newport City Council has remained firm in its refusal to grant Howells access, citing environmental and logistical concerns. A council spokesperson said excavation could cause severe disruption to the waste management system and create a significant public inconvenience.
However, Howells was surprised to learn that the city already had plans to close the landfill in the 2025-26 financial year. The site will be repurposed for a solar farm, expected to power the city’s fleet of garbage trucks.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS
A $768M #Bitcoin treasure could be lost forever! Newport, UK’s landfill—where James Howells’ hard drive with 8,000 BTC was dumped—will shut down by 2026
His legal battle failed, and council blocked excavation due to environmental risks.#digitalart #CryptoNews pic.twitter.com/Sqd8cNLOxg— Stella Patrick (@Crypto_Star3) February 10, 2025
“The council planning on closing the landfill so soon is quite a surprise, especially since it claimed at the High Court that closing the landfill to allow me to search would have a huge detrimental impact on the people of Newport,” Howells said.
Despite his frustration, he is not giving up. He has vowed to continue his fight, whether through legal appeals or pursuing the purchase of the landfill itself.
🚨 The British man who lost Bitcoin worth $780m in the garbage now wants to buy landfill
James Howells is showing incredible determination in his quest to recover 8,000 lost Bitcoin from a UK landfill, now worth a staggering $780 million. After a lengthy 11-year pursuit,… pic.twitter.com/LB98rYYu7V
— Bitcoin Vista (@bitcoinvista) February 10, 2025
Whether Howells will ever recover his digital fortune remains uncertain. However, as Bitcoin’s value continues to climb, the stakes grow higher – and so does his determination.