REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Board of Directors and Stockholders of Republic Services, Inc.:
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Republic Services, Inc. and
subsidiaries as of December 31, 2004 and 2003, and the related consolidated statements of income,
stockholders' equity, and cash Öows for the three years in the period ended December 31, 2004. Our audits
also included the Ñnancial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a). These Ñnancial statements
and schedule are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion
on these Ñnancial statements and schedule based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight
Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable
assurance about whether the Ñnancial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes
examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the Ñnancial statements. An
audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and signiÑcant estimates made by management, as
well as evaluating the overall Ñnancial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable
basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the Ñnancial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the
consolidated Ñnancial position of Republic Services, Inc. and subsidiaries at December 31, 2004 and 2003, and
the consolidated results of their operations and their cash Öows for each of the three years in the period ended
December 31, 2004 in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also, in our opinion, the
related Ñnancial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic Ñnancial statements taken as a
whole, presents fairly in all material respects the information set forth therein.
As discussed in Note 1 to the Ñnancial statements, in 2003 Republic Services, Inc. changed its method of
accounting for Ñnal capping, closure and post-closure costs relating to its landÑlls and for methane gas
collection systems.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight
Board (United States), the eÅectiveness of Republic Services, Inc.'s internal control over Ñnancial reporting
as of December 31, 2004, based on criteria established in Internal Control Ì Integrated Framework issued by
the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 24,
2005, expressed an unqualiÑed opinion thereon.
/s/ E RNST & YOUNG LLP
CertiÑed Public Accountants
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
February 24, 2005
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