How to Report An Environmental Pollution in Ontario

Have you ever seen someone hurting the environment but didn’t know what to do about it? To be specific, have you ever seen anyone participate in any of the following: 

- Pollution taking place on land, in the air or water

- Commercial noise pollution or industrial noise pollution

- Dumping of waste in a natural environment

- Incorrectly disposing commercial waste

If so, don’t turn a blind eye to the situation. Your inaction might cause more harm than good. Instead, respond quickly by reporting where and when the incident happened and keep the community safe.

How do you do that in Ontario, you ask? It’s extremely simple! 

Currently, there are two ways one can report a pollution: 

1. By phone at 1-866-MOE-TIPS (663-8477), toll-free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 

2. Online at https://report-pollution.ene.gov.on.ca/ 

Please note that in case of urgent pollution incidents, please always choose the phone option. 

Let’s take a closer look at what the ministry is looking for! 

When reporting a pollution (by phone or online), the following information is asked about and collected: 

- Incident data & time & location 

- What the current situation looks like

- What type of pollutant is observed

- How is the pollutant impacting the environment

- What is the current weather condition like 

If choosing the online option (a new recent tool implemented by the Ontario government), a quick form is asked to be filled out. Here, you are also able to upload photos/videos (20MB max) about the incident and get live updates about the status of the ministry’s response. 

If you’re unsure if something should be reported or not, do it anyway and let the ministry determine that answer. 

To read more about this, visit: https://www.ontario.ca/page/report-pollution-and-spills#section-1