Governmental entities have encouraged increased recycling through marketing efforts concentrated on promotional and distribution factors. In terms of distribution, governments have set up curbside recycling collection routes to facilitate recycling by consumers. However, these efforts have proven quite costly. Such efforts might even be counterproductive to the long-range goal of reducing waste and saving energy. Such efforts might discourage the free market for-profit recyclers and the network supporting those firms, as well as upsetting the balance of supply and demand.
Governmental entities might better encourage development of reverse logistics channels by developing a system of financial incentives or penalties to increase demand for recyclables. Such strategies might result in development of more efficient reverse logistics channels, with less cost to the government, while also reducing environmental degradation which might occur due to improper disposal of waste.