Jacksonville Approves Incentives Aiming to Keep Advanced Disposal

The city council of Jacksonville, Fla., approved an incentive package for Advanced Disposal Services Inc. in hopes of keeping and expanding its headquarters in the city.

The city council approved by a 16-2 vote an incentive package of not more than $895,000 to Advanced Disposal, which has merged its sister company Interstate Waste Services Inc. with it and will complete the purchase of Milwaukee-based Veolia ES Solid Waste Inc. by the end of the year. Advanced Disposal also is considering three other cities for its headquarters, and those cities – Atlanta, Milwaukee and Charlotte, N.C. – also have offered incentive packages, according to Mary O’Brien, chief marketing officer for Advanced Disposal, in an e-mail.

“The company will make a decision regarding its corporate headquarters that is in the best business and financial interest of the company,” O’Brien said.

 According to the city legislative proposal, the consolidation of the three companies would retain 35 current headquarters employees and add 85 new jobs that would pay an average of $112,209 plus benefits. The legislative fact sheet also stated that Advanced Disposal proposes to invest $8.2 million in leasehold improvements, machinery, equipment, furniture and technology infrastructure.

The fact sheet states that Milwaukee has move-in ready space. Both Charlotte and Atlanta offer a centralized location for efficient travel. All offer attractive incentive packages, the sheet reported.

The Jacksonville incentive package comes while the city is fighting with Advanced Disposal over the issue of yard waste and whether it is being recycled, or landfilled and subject to host fees. O’Brien said Advanced Disposal processes and recycles 100 percent of the yard waste under approved government processes. “To challenge this process in conjunction with the company’s incentive package appears to be both competitor and politically motivated,” she said.

Advanced Disposal took managerial control of Interstate Waste in September. The two companies are owned by New York-based Highstar Capital, which agreed to buy Veolia ES in July.