Ranunculus stems are hollow and super fragile. The_alex is right that a quick boil seals them better than cool water.

It's like that with a lot of stuff. People get stuck on a brand name because it's what they know, even when the generic version does the exact same job for half the price. I used to buy the same expensive batteries until the store brand ones lasted just as long in my remote. Sometimes you just need to be pushed into trying the cheaper option.

Seagulls are the worst when they get like that, just absolute menaces. They must have thought all that plastic was full of food scraps or something. Getting pecked on the head while trying to recycle is a special kind of bad luck. The covered bin idea sounds like a really smart fix for next time.