While caught by surprise by Republic Services, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., acquiring Phoenix-based Allied Waste, an official for the Washington-based National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) says he thinks it is good for the overall industry despite the immediate challenges that the acquisition presents.

“We’ve gone through these surprises before,” says Bruce Parker, president and CEO of NSWMA, referring to acquisitions and mergers between the industry’s larger companies, such as the 1999 deal in which Allied purchased BFI. “It shakes up the industry, but in the end the results are usually a positive.”

Parker says he thinks the new Republic Services will offer strong competition to the industry’s largest company, Houston-based Waste Management. In addition, he adds that some of the independent companies also will benefit from the merging of the industries’ second- and third-largest companies by picking up subsidiaries that the Justice Department may require to be shed as part of the deal.

However, with losing one of its three biggest members, NSWMA faces the challenge of finding a way to make up for lost dues and voluntary revenues essential to supporting the association’s programs. Parker says he is hopeful that securing a commitment from the new Republic Services will resolve concerns from the transaction.