The pharmaceutical business has experienced tremendous pharmaceutical development due to an increase in the demand for public health. In recent years both the use and disposal of pharmaceuticals have increased linearly. Pharmaceutical waste mostly includes vaccines or biological products used for therapy that are no longer in use or expired. Wastes are undesirable materials that can no longer be employed in production and operation processes and may eventually change into substances that are toxic to mankind and environmentally unsafe. Pharmaceutical waste entering the eco-system has increased the level of environmental degradation which has led to a focus on research to minimize the harmful emission as well as improve the management and disposal of pharmaceutical waste. Different regulatory bodies are participating to prevent pharmaceutical pollution including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which regulates the disposal of hazardous pharmaceutical waste through the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and State Environmental Protection Agency. This review focuses on the management, generation, and disposal of pharmaceutical waste as well as the gradual reinforcement of policies and practices. It also demonstrates that environmental pollution and threats to human health can be greatly reduced if all sub-areas of pharmaceutical waste management can function effectively side by side.