text: **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. 