Man whose £165m worth of Bitcoin was mistakenly thrown into landfill unveils new plan to retrieve
Published on Oct 03, 2023 at 8:18 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Nov 24, 2023 at 9:33 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A UK man who accidentally threw £165m of Bitcoin cryptocurrency into landfill has revealed his latest plan to retrieve his digital fortune.
After spending a decade fighting with Newport City Council, James Howells told the Independent he’s decided to “go to battle”.
The 37-year-old IT systems engineer threw away his hard drive by mistake in 2013.
He put the hardware from an old laptop in a black bag in his hallway.
It contained 8,000 Bitcoins in cryptocurrency.
READ MORE: The Bitcoin pioneers who accidentally lost nearly $1 billion between them
“I woke up the next morning and my ex-partner had already taken the bags to the landfill site; she thought she was doing me a favour, it wasn’t her fault” he said to the newspaper.
He planned to use environmental health and data recovery experts to help him recover the hard drive.
Once legally at the dump site, he hopes AI and a mechanical arm can help him sift through the debris and recover his funds from the gadget.
He also wants to use robot dogs to deter thieves from searching for and stealing the digital funds.
However, the council have refused his access to the landfill, despite Howells offering to cover any costs.
His new legal team wrote to the local authority on 6 September to request access.
The council was given two weeks to respond before possible escalation in the courts.
Howells hopes once his hard drive is recovered, he can make Newport the UK’s first “crypto hub”.
He’s promised to gift the 160,000 residents £50 in bitcoin each and install crypto point-of-sale devices in all independent stores.
“The idea is then people will have to learn how to use bitcoin, and that will then help them themselves going forward in the future,” he said.
“Until the door is fully slammed shut by a court, then I will continue trying, as I have over the last 10 years,” he said.
“The court is the last step for me, I am no longer asking Newport City Council for access, I am now going to be asking a judge for access.”
A spokesperson for Newport City Council made the following comment.
“Newport City Council has been contacted multiple times since 2013 about the possibility of retrieving a piece of IT hardware said to contain bitcoins, which may or may not be in our landfill site,” they said.
“The council has told Mr. Howells on multiple times that excavation is not possible under our environmental permit, and that work of that nature would have a huge negative environmental impact on the surrounding area.
“The council is the only body authorised to carry out operations on the site.
“We have been very clear and consistent in our responses that we cannot assist Mr. Howells in this matter. Our position has not changed.”
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
