Limited Warranty Politics

A few weeks ago our barely one year old humidifier's motor died. The rest of the unit, the water tank, the base, the motor housing are fine. The 5 Year Limited Warranty states that 'normal wear and tear' are not covered under their warranty.

The humidifier has been sitting in the hallway waiting for me to make the next move; I've been mentally debating offering the parts on freecycle or packaging it up and putting it on our front steps with a 'free parts' note.

I've been stalling based on a landfill experience from last year when our coffee bean grinder's motor died. Village Papa tried fixing it but didn't have the right miniature tools. Then I went to three repair shops who all told me to throw out the unit and buy another one; no one wanted to repair it, 'too expensive to repair' was the excuse. Throwing that grinder in the trash made me feel terrible; I felt paralyzed from my inability to repair/reuse, and mostly reduce our family's contribution to the landfill.

Imagining our humidifier's next incarnation as landfill mass provoked me to call the Consumer Service Centre. They have said they WILL replace it with a brand new one. I should be elated, but
I have no idea what they'll do with the one I send them. They couldn't tell me that because they haven't seen the unit.

So here I am grateful for the new humidifier we are going to get (the one that keeps nose bleeds at bay), but I feel guilty that the motor I send them may just end up in the landfill anyway. Anyone have any cheerful warranty/repair/non landfill ending stories to cheer me up?