Coupling effect between waste heat recovery and government subsidy with supply chain as a pivot

•Supplier-dominated mode and third-party-dominated mode of heat recovery are proposed.•Competition strategy is introduced in optimal control of supply chain.•Government subsidies, supply chain decision-making, and the market size are critical.•Incremental government subsidy is necessary with heat recovery scale expanding.•The third-party-recycling-companies-dominated mode is superior for normal need level.