Stillwater Approves Routeware Waste Software
The city council approved a first-year subscription to waste management software that will replace paper-based route management.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in City Hall
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The Stillwater City Council approved a first-year subscription to Routeware, software designed to help manage waste collection, recycling, and street sweeping vehicles. The Stillwater Waste Management department will switch from paper trail route management to trackable software starting in early 2027.
Why it matters
The department averages about 10 missed service calls per day, and each requires 15 minutes to two hours to investigate. The software is intended to help verify service, resolve issues faster, add new stops, and reduce delays for residents in Stillwater.
The approved first-year subscription costs $92,700 annually, and the department will pull $121,717 from the Stillwater Waste Management Fund to cover program costs. Whether these costs will continue at the same level after the first year was not addressed.
The players
Stillwater City Council
The city's elected legislative body, which voted to approve the first-year Routeware subscription.
Routeware
A software company whose platform is designed to help municipalities manage waste collection, recycling, and street sweeping fleets.
Samsara
A fleet management company that is partnering with Routeware to provide SmartCity cameras and a hard drive for the program.
The details
Routeware provides route planning, dispatching, real-time GPS vehicle tracking, drive behavior monitoring, and camera footage, partnering with fleet management company Samsara for SmartCity cameras and a hard drive. The software is driver-facing, will not use facial recognition or car tag tracking, and will mainly store location data for the city's waste management vehicles.
Timeline
Monday: Stillwater City Council approved the software purchase.
Early 2027: Routeware implementation begins and is expected to take 90 days.
City Hall Context
Stillwater's move follows the trend of municipalities adopting Routeware to replace manual dispatching with GPS-based route management and driver monitoring. The shift marks a departure from the paper-based route handling that the department used previously.
Residents may see fewer missed trash and recycling pickups as the department gains GPS tracking and faster issue resolution. Route changes and new stops should be easier to verify once the system is in place.
The takeaway
Tracking tools like Routeware can help a city verify service and cut investigation time for missed collections. Stillwater residents should watch for the early 2027 rollout to see whether service reliability improves.
What happens next
Routeware implementation is expected to begin in early 2027 and take 90 days.
Further reading
Read more about local government decisions in Stillwater City Hall coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Stillwater News Press.
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