A British computer expert who lost a hard drive containing about 7,500 bitcoins has offered to buy part of the Newport landfill where he believes the device is buried. James Howells, who has been fighting the Newport City Council for access to search for the hard drive, made the offer after the council announced plans to close the landfill.

According to a BBC report, Howells says the hard drive is buried in a section of the landfill containing 100,000 metric tons of waste. The landfill holds more than 1.4 million metric tons of waste. The council plans to close the landfill in the 2025-26 fiscal year and build a solar farm on the site.

If Newport’s plan goes ahead, Howells, who has been battling the council for years, will be permanently blocked from accessing the landfill. Howells, who plans to appeal a ruling granting ownership of the bitcoins to the council, questioned the decision to close the landfill.

“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, whilst at the same time they were planning to close the landfill anyway,” Howells reportedly asked.

In January, a U.K. court dismissed Howells’ attempt to force the council to allow him to search the landfill or pay him more than $500 million. However, in dismissing Howells’ lawsuit, Judge Keyser said the claim had no realistic prospect of success at trial. The ruling, which essentially supported the council’s claim of ownership of the hard drive, further diminished his chances.

However, Howells remains hopeful and has explored the possibility of buying the landfill with his financial backers.

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