Garbage Cans Destoyed Need Replaced

[Michael Temple]

So, I have a new interesting issue that came up at one of my properties overnight. Our city contracts with a private company to pick up garbage. The city charges a fee in the property taxes for this service. That company requires special large square cans that they provided to each resident when the private company took over for free. They use a truck with some automated arm that picks the cans up and dumps them in the truck so the cans must be placed close the street and a certain distance apart.

In the overnight hours some idiot came down the road and hit both cans, dragging one of them several houses down, and spread garbage out across the area. Nobody saw them so catching them will probably be impossible. Both cans are destroyed because they are only made out of plastic. The private company that supplies the cans says they charge a $60 per can replacement cost for each can.

I am trying to figure out if this is my responsibility as the landlord or the tenants responsibility who lives there. These aren't part of the house per se, but they are at the same time. I don't feel I should pay to replace them. Ultimately it should NOT be either of our responsibilities, but the morons that did this won't be caught and the garbage company requires you use their cans because of the automation arm so I am not sure how to handle this one.

Anybody else ever have a situation like this happen to them and have some suggestions as to how to handle it?