

By what metric? Recycling gives a new use to discarded materials, so the material might be 100% not-discarded, but new energy is still consumed in the recycling process. This is why reducing and re-using are more powerful levers than recycling.
There is also the detail of whether a material is truly “re” cycled back to the original use, or is “down” cycled to a use with less rigorous technical requirements.
As late as the 19th century? Belief in “like cures like” alternate medicines is still widespread today!
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7253376/