In the recycling of Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 polyamides from post-consumer or post-industrial waste, a process is disclosed to separate Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 polyamides from commingled polyolefin waste components, particularly polypropylene, by admixing the waste with an ester solvent composition and heating the admixture to a temperature above the melting temperature of the contained polyolefins to form an ester solvent composition further containing dissolved polyamide polymer and a separate immiscible liquid polyolefin phase. The ester solvent composition preferably contains ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, butylene carbonate, or mixtures thereof.