The main motivation, from the point of view of municipal authorities, is to reduce materials that must be deposited in landfills. This arrangement requires careful use by those depositing items here to avoid objections from nearby residents. In many industrialized countries, source separation and curbside collection programs are heavily subsidized by municipal governments, private industries or foundations. When municipal funding is withdrawn, the scope of materials recovery may be greatly reduced. These countries usually have the institutional competence and capacity in urban government to integrate local and regional waste management plans.
Citizens tend to be highly aware of the problems and to cooperate in separation programs.
Undeveloped or fluctuating markets for recyclable materials, however, continue to limit cost recovery and the diversion of materials from landfills. The accompanying box suggests some of the differences between developing and industrialized countries with regard to waste reduction and materials recovery. Most urban places in the developing world have yet to experience the decline of traditional recovery of recyclables and the corresponding increase in post-consumer wastes, which, together with scarcity of dump space, have led many affluent cities to sponsor materials recovery. If one takes into account the use of compost from dumps sites as well as materials recovery, in countries like India, Vietnam, and China, the majority of municipal wastes of all kinds are ultimately utilized. Because unskilled labor costs are low and there is a high demand for manufacturing materials, manufacturers can readily use leftovers as feedstock or engage in waste exchange.