ABSTRACT Significant progress has been made in waste minimization and pollution prevention in textile manufacturing processes. Because most carpets and textiles are for replacement, recycling post-consumer fibrous waste should be an integral part of sustainability for textile products. Currently in the United States alone, over 2 million tons of post-consumer carpet waste is discarded into landfills each year, and the amount is expected to increase to over 3 million tons by 2012. Very little post-consumer carpet at present is recycled. To establish a sustainable commercial network to recycle fibrous waste, operations based on different technologies must coexist such that different types of materials collected can be recycled to the greatest extent. This paper reviews technologies for carpet waste recycling.