(This is NOT a sponsored post – it’s just about a pump that I love. If you have any information about returning non-Medela pumps, please let me know and I’ll add the info to this post! )
When Red was an infant, I picked up a Medela swing breast pump. It was a simple, one horned unit, in case I needed it for supplementing or getting a stash started. But it ended up mostly unused. I quickly discovered I needed a bigger unit to do anything more than relieve pressure, and Red having had fetal distress and a complicated birth left our breastfeeding journey less than desirable.
Fast forward to this summer to Scarlett’s birth. I finally obtained a double electric pump that has been the bomb.com and a visit to the lactation consultant has helped me develop a better set of breastfeeding skills to (hopefully) breastfeed longer than I did the first round. But what do I do with my old breast pump? I know you can’t share the parts that contact your milk/breast… and thrift stores, of course, won’t take them, so I took to the mighty interwebs for more answers.
Did you know that you can RECYCLE your breast pump?? Medela has a program to return old Medela electric pumps (no manual pumps or other brands), clean and refurbish them to give to mothers in need at the Ronald McDonald House. I thought that was very cool. Most of the mothers in he NICU are given these pumps to help with their premature babies. I haven’t found other programs for Lansinoh, Nuk or other pump brands (if you know of some, please let me know… I’ll add them to this resource!)
Here’s how to recycle your old breast pump: visit http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/medela-recycles/start and print your shipping label. It’s FREE. Medela pays the shipping!
Then, grab yourself an old Amazon box (because we have TONS of those saved up!!) and pack just your pump and power cord in the box. They ask you not to send any carrying bags, coolers, breast shields, connectors or tubing (that makes the packing box very small and none of those parts you want to share, anyway! Our local recycling centers take those types of plastic, so I was set to dump them in our recycling bin. Check with your local trash company! Then, adhere the label to the box, tape it up and drop it off in the mail!
Once my old breast pump was received, Medela sent me an email notification so I knew it arrived safely. Now I can concentrate on breastfeeding and pumping with my schmancy new double pump and know that not only am I freeing up space in the baby closet, I’m also helping another mother in need, which is awesome!
I think this is really a good program. Buying a breast pump for some Mom’s is HUGE! This is a great way to reuse.
Great way to recycle. Glad they are doing this.
What a great program! I wish I had known about this before, I would have donated my pump.
What a great thing. Breast Pumps are SO expensive so this is a great program that they are doing.
Thank you so much for this. My stepdaughter is breastfeeding right now and this will come in handy when she’s ready to do away with her breast pump down the line!
That’s so great! I passed mine along to my cousin.
This is such a wonderful program. I never knew you could recycle them.
me neither. Total accident that I found the program!
What a great idea. I love to see programs that keep things out of the landfills and help people out at the same time. A win-win.
I never knew recycling was an option! I had a MEdela pump and ended up selling it a consignment store.
I had no idea that you could recycle an old breast pump. This is such a wonderful thing that can help moms that need it. For a minute I expected some unique DIY project to make with the breast pump, hahaha!
Lindsey, I just shared this on my blog as one of my favorite links from the past week! Thanks for the useful info. I hope lots of moms are blessed by this.