Since the Industrial Revolution, the United States has experienced tremendous changes. This change has created a culture of consumption that has led to the creation of enormous amounts of waste. According to reports, in 2003 Americans produced nearly 500 million pounds of waste. Alone, the United States consumes 30% of the world's resources and produces 30% of all waste (Conquest, 2). These numbers are evidence of a consumer culture that has created a problem of unwanted waste that has yet to be solved. However, not everyone is proportionately affected by waste, as predominantly low-income communities live near waste-related sites. In this article I will discuss how low-income communities are disproportionately subject to the harmful health effects of waste and argue that low-income communities have historically and are currently responding to counteract the effects of waste to protect their communities. Low-income communities live disproportionately near waste landfills in the U.S. Supporting this claim, reports show that three of the five largest landfills in the United States are located in predominantly African American or Latino communities (Hamilton , 6). From this report it is clear that low-income communities are left with the burden of supporting the lifestyles of this consumer society. Although they are less likely to consume and therefore create waste, low-income residents live in communities where they are exposed to degraded environments. To understand why low-income communities live near waste dumps, waste disposal companies say: “Residents on average are much poorer, less educated and more likely to be African American than those who are paper . ...unity to bring change to their community. Additionally, to gain national attention, the Kettleman community produced a short documentary to expose the disease and death the landfill is creating. The extent to which the community created a documentary reveals the small community's motivation and desperation to gain public support against a corporate giant like The Chemical Waste Management. Ultimately, residents' frustration can be seen as they constantly express, “Why us?” While the Kettleman City case awaits the results of toxic testing to demonstrate that the facility is in fact causing adverse health effects in the community, this case is indicative of how even the smallest communities can make a change and, more importantly, demonstrates that low income communities are currently speaking out against waste in their communities.