Story perspectives
Land use explains fastest underwear decomposition, Swiss study finds
8/30/2026
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Story summary
- Swiss researchers led by Marcel van der Heijden buried 2,000 cotton underwear pairs nationwide to assess soil health.
- Around 1,000 volunteers each buried two underwear pairs and six teabags, retrieving them after two months.
- Underwear decomposed fastest in private gardens, slower in fields and meadows, and slowest on lawns.
- Land use explained these differences better than measured soil nutrients, temperature, or moisture.
