"When the world gives you lemons, make lemonade."
Cutting off that ... 5" ?? ... of vinyl means you have FREE material to use for another purpose. You could make small signs and laminate them to some substrate, or just donate the material to the local scout troop or elementary school. Teachers are always looking for FREE materials to use in their classrooms.
In California, I was given a stack of self-adhesive return address labels nearly six feet tall! A print shop was closing down, and I took them off of their hands so they would not be wasted. These labels were all pre-printed with assorted colors and designs, with a white or pastel colored space to print an address. I donated them to an elementary school, and the teachers gave them to the kids to cut up and make magnificent art images of birds, fish, flowers, etc, just by peeling, cutting and sticking the various colors and patterns where they needed them. I think there were four million labels in that stack, as I recall. They might still be using them, here 14 years later!
I know that someone would either buy, or take those vinyl strips from you.
The man who makes kitchen cabinets throws away a lot of good wood that could be used to make bird houses, or wooden key chains, or props for model train sets.
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