Poly(ethylene terephthalate) bottle-grade (BG) waste was converted into spinnable chips and spun on a laboratory-scale melt-spinning apparatus into filaments. Virgin fiber-grade (FG) polyester chips were blended with BG waste during melt spinning so that the influence of blending on the fiber properties could be studied. Subsequently, the scaling-up of the process was carried out in a polyester recycling plant so that staple fibers could be obtained. In this part of the study, the spinning of blends of BG waste and FG waste was carried out. The BG waste was found to be superior feed stock for melt processing. Fibers with unique properties were obtained from the BG waste. Staple fibers obtained by the blending of FG and BG waste showed properties different from those of fibers spun from BG waste alone. This study also showed that using blends of BG and FG waste could improve the melt processing and staple-fiber properties. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.