Phoenix emailed me 16 times about its new trash pickup system. It was hardly spam

The city of Phoenix may have annoyed a few residents this week by inadvertently bombarding their inboxes with repeated messages about its new setup for bulk trash pickup.

I was not among the annoyed.

For the first few emails, at least, I took it as a sign of the city’s unbridled exuberance for the changes.

Which I share.

And not just because in this era of services on-demand, it seems only logical that government should modernize and follow suit.

Phoenix's bulk pickup schedule was confusing

Those of us who own or rent houses in Phoenix know well the drill of having to time our garage cleaning, home improvement and yard projects to coincide with the designated period when crews will come and haul away trash that’s too massive or clunky for the weekly pickup.

On more than one occasion, I confused the week of pickup with the week of placement (you’re discouraged from putting trash out earlier for risk of running afoul of complaints and written warnings from the city).

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Which meant having to haul things personally to the city dump (it’s actually a pain-free exercise if you have the time).

Unexpected circumstances – felled trees and yard debris from monsoon, for instance – don't make for timing with scheduled pickups.

And depending on which of a dozen or so zones you live, residents of one area always get stuck with placement or pickup of trash during the holidays, which is fine if your home happens to have an alley (mine does).

It’s another if you have to place the pile in your front yard the week you (or your neighbors) are hosting Thanksgiving or Christmas events or vacationing visitors.

Leaving trash out always made me nervous

More concerning are the safety risks.

I live in an east Phoenix neighborhood prone to roof rats (my house has been plagued by them, but that’s another story). Plus, I have an aging wood fence hugging oleanders along the back.

It’s a paranoia of mine that tree trimmings will serve as kindling or worse if fire breaks out. I’ve watched spectacular oleander fires in my time as a police reporter.

A two-week stretch for waste to be out is two weeks of risks, albeit minimal ones, that I’d prefer to shorten as much as possible.

So, you betcha I’m exuberant about the pickup by appointment system going into effect this fall.

Even if the city sends me 16 reminders in three days.

Reach Abe Kwok at akwok@azcentral.com. On X, formerly Twitter: @abekwok.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix emailed me 16 times on trash pickup. It was hardly spam