Man who lost nearly $1 billion worth of Bitcoin now wants to buy the landfill

James Howells has been on a quest to recover his lost Bitcoin, which he claims is missing within a landfill site in Newport, Wales.

Howells' quest to recover the lost hard drive, which he says contains approximately 7,500 Bitcoins, worth approximately £586 million ($728 million USD) at the current time of reporting, has now resulted in the man offering to purchase the landfill site from the city council. The escape of events doesn't start there, though, as Howell has been trying to convince the Newport City Council to give him access to the landfill so he can begin sifting through the trash to look for the hard drive.

According to Howell, the hard drive's location has been pinpointed down to 100,000 tonnes of waste, which may sound large, but it's not as large as the landfills' approximate total capacity of 1.4 million metric tonnes. Howell has already been rejected by the city council for gaining access to the landfill, despite his promise to share 10% of the recovered Bitcoin with the city council if the drive is found. In response to the rejection, Howell filed a lawsuit against the Newport City Council, which was dismissed early last month as the judge ruled Howell had no reasonable grounds along with no realistic prospect of success at the trial.

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However, this hasn't completely ruled out Howell ever getting his hands on the hard drive, as the Newport City Council recently revealed it intends to close and cap the dumping site, as it has nearly reached its full capacity. Now, Howell intends to buy the landfill site directly from the city council, so the search can begin.

"I have discussed this option recently with investment partners and it is very much on the table," Howells told the British broadcaster

"It's easy to see why Mr. Howells is so consumed by the desire to find his missing hard drive," Business Waste UK waste management expert Mark Hall said. "However, considering all the factors, it's highly unlikely he'll ever be able to find his hard drive in a landfill."