Capitol is losing its leaves in Carson City

The Capitol Grounds is arguably one of the prettiest places in Carson City.

With numerous, mature trees, it draws praise from not only visitors but those who work there through most of the year.

But in fall, those huge trees create a lot of work for Buildings and Grounds crews because they drop literally tons of leaves that have to be bagged and hauled away by workers.

B&G’s Dave Bell said the process takes a month or more depending on how fast cold weather comes and involves as many as eight B&G and inmate workers. At the peak, he said they’re removing 100 bags of leaves a day. He said just last week, they removed 8,000 pounds of leaves from the grounds.

“And we’re maybe 60 percent done,” he said.

The majority of the bags get hauled to the Carson landfill but Bell said some state workers and others take a few bags to compost for their gardens.