Allied Waste Purchase Cleared by U.S.

U.S. Justice Dept. antitrust regulators have cleared Republic Services' $55 million purchase of Allied Waste Industries' hauling business with the stipulation that Republic divest an Ohio waste- collection unit. Joel I. Klein, chief of the department's antitrust division, says that without the divestiture of the Republic assets, consumers in Akron/Canton would have paid higher prices for waste collection. "This resolution ensures that the benefits of competition-lower prices and better services-will be preserved,'' he explains.

The Justice Dept. filed the proposed consent agreement with Republic in U.S. District Court in Washington, along with a …