The Second Draft: Recycled Paper in the Mamluk Period

This study investigates the production and utilization of recycled paper in the medieval Islamic world, specifically during the Mamluk period. While the reuse of written paper as scrap or binding material is well-documented, the process of repulping discarded documents to create new sheets has remained understudied. By analyzing literary evidence from jurists like Ibn al-Ḥājj and Abū Ḥāmid al-Qudsī, the author demonstrates that paper recycling was an established practice in Egypt by the late 13th century at the earliest.
The findings reveal that due to the lack of deinking technology, recycled paper in the Mamluk context was typically gray or dark, making it unsuitable for writing. Consequently, this material, known commercially as Fuwwī paper, was repurposed for utilitarian applications, such as wrapping confections, perfumes, and drugs.
A comparative analysis with medieval Japan highlights a significant cultural divergence: while Mamluk society relegated recycled paper to low-grade industrial use, the Japanese Paper Bureau produced recycled paper (shukushi) that was deemed legitimate for official court correspondence and imperial decrees, despite its gray hue. Ultimately, the study argues that the Mamluk recycling process likely contributed to the disappearance of state archives and concludes that cultural epistemologies, rather than just economic necessity, shaped the diverse documentary practices of premodern societies.