As climate change intensifies flooding, people's experiences of its impact may influence their willingness to act. Alongside recent corruption scandals that have hindered effective flood control projects, addressing behavioural factors, particularly promoting rubbish segregation practices is essential. Responsible rubbish disposal helps prevent plastic waste from blocking waterways and can reduce flooding, with a focus on personal culpability. This policy brief incorporates the results of a study surveying 280 Filipino adults about their views on climate change and comparisons between local waste disposal in the Philippines and Australia's segregation practices. The aim was to examine how social comparisons - comparing one's situation to that of others to gain perspective - drive climate change mitigation behaviour. Contrary to expectations, people who experienced more climaterelated events showed stronger climate mitigation behaviours, regardless of how much they felt affected by floods, especially when told to evaluate their waste practices and compare them with those in more developed countries like Australia. However, when presented with an anti-littering sign warning that illegal dumping could lead to prosecution (as is done in Australia), experiencing negative climate events might influence how strongly people feel impacted by floods, which could then prompt more climate mitigation behaviours.
Recommended strategies include using anti-littering signs linking rubbish disposal to flood risks, promoting alternatives to plastic packaging and phasing out environmentally-harmful plastics. Emphasising collaboration over criticism may be more effective in instigating action. Additionally, engaging affluent Filipinos in climate mitigation is important, as they seem to be less concerned about such impacts.