Environmental and health impact of unrecovered API from pharmaceutical manufacturing wastes: A review of contemporary treatment,recycling and management strategies

Pharmaceutical industries are imminent for the survival of any contemporary society as their products are valuable for the populace's health and wellness. However, the wastes of these industries have become a nuisance with severe implications on human health and ecosystem, especially in many developing countries where they are discharged indiscriminately into the environment, either untreated or poorly treated. Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Waste (PMW) effluents have been reported to possess a high BOD and COD, as well as recoverable APIs of various classes of pharmaceuticals. Moreover, antibiotic residues in these effluents are implicated in the progression and spread of antibiotic resistance in the aquatic and agroecosystem. Globally, the diverse activities of various pharmaceutical industries, owing to their diverse products, have resulted in difficulty in developing universal management and treatment protocols. Consequently, regulatory bodies/institutions find it challenging to monitor waste disposal practices of these industries adequately, primarily owing to their non-disclosure policies of intellectual properties. Hence, to a large extent, the onus for a sustainable society regarding PMWs lies in the decision and policies of these industries. Therefore, this review aims to foster informed policy-making decisions regarding waste management practices of pharmaceutical industries.