The aminolytic depolymerization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) taken from waste soft‐drink bottles, under microwave irradiation, is proposed as a recycling method with possible substantial energy savings. The reaction was carried out with ethanolamine and without the use of any other catalyst in a sealed microwave reactor in which the pressure and temperature were controlled and recorded. Experiments under constant temperature or microwave power were carried out for several time periods. The main product, bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) terephthalamide, was identified from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and DSC measurements. It was found that PET depolymerization is favoured by increasing temperature, time and microwave power. The average molecular weight of the PET residues, determined using viscosity measurements, was found to decrease with the percentage of PET degradation, indicating a random chain scission mechanism to some extent. From a simple kinetic model, the activation energy of the reaction was evaluated. Complete depolymerization was found to occur in less than 5 min when the irradiation power applied was 100 W or the temperature was 260 °C. These results support the use of microwave‐assisted aminolytic degradation as a very beneficial method for the recycling of PET wastes. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry