Verter Recycling 2002 S.L. utilizes law firm with ties to Basque Government in Zaldibar case

• Verter Recycling 2002 S.L., the company responsible for the 2020 Zaldibar landfill collapse that killed two workers, is being defended by a law firm, Ekoiure, with historical ties to the Basque Government.
• Ekoiure’s director, Xabier Caño, is a former director of Ihobe (a public environmental agency) and a former legal advisor to the Basque Ministry of the Environment.
• The firm maintains multiple contracts with the Basque Government and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia—the very institutions currently demanding the company pay for €29 million in landfill restoration costs.

Legal Standing and Environmental Impact

• The High Court of Justice of the Basque Country (TSJPV) recently rejected an appeal by the company, confirming the classification of "significant environmental damage" caused by the collapse.
• Analytical data detected excessive levels of mercury, ammonium, and arsenic in the area.
• While the company dissolved in September 2021, the government maintains that the company's administrators remain personally liable for the restoration costs.

Conflict of Interest Concerns

• According to public procurement data, Ekoiure has been awarded 20 public contracts since 2017, totaling nearly €300,000, including contracts from the Basque Government and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia.
• Xabier Caño has been previously scrutinized for conflicts of interest regarding his movement between public roles at Ihobe and private positions in the waste management sector.
• A separate criminal investigation into environmental crimes related to the landfill, involving both company leadership and former environment department technicians, remains ongoing at a court in Durango.