Gurugram: In a city that sends hundreds of tonnes of waste to the Bandhwari landfill daily, Monika Khanna Gulati has spent years showing residents that the solution to the waste crisis can start at home — in kitchens, balconies and daily habits.Monika Gulati is inspiring and educating young minds about the importance of environmental conservation and sustainable living. (Parveen Kumar/HT PHOTO)A graphic designer, educator, avid gardener and environmental advocate, Gulati has emerged as one of Gurugram’s leading voices on sustainable living. Through her lifestyle and community initiatives, she has encouraged residents to rethink how they consume, segregate and dispose off waste.At her home in Nirvana Country, kitchen waste, garden leaves and pruning are composted while paper, cardboard, glass and e-waste are sent for recycling through authorised channels.In 2015, Gulati founded the ‘NCR Waste Matters’ initiative, a platform to bring together waste management practitioners, experts, citizens and agencies to promote responsible waste management at household and community levels.She also supported the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) to set up a citizen monitoring group focusing on waste management and bulk waste generators.Supporting the RWA, Gulati helped establish the Nirvana Country waste management and composting model, which inspired many communities across NCR and beyond. The project, which ran from 2015 to 2023, produced around 1.5 tonnes of compost every month.“When we unsettle the environment, we inevitably damage our own quality of life” Gulati said. For her, sustainability is not about sacrifice but about building systems that work naturally within everyday life.Her work extends beyond Gurugram. Through talks, workshops, awareness drives and demonstrations, she has trained over 15,000 young people in 12 years and promoted community-based waste management across the country.When asked what inspired her work, her answer was ‘anger’. “Anger can be a beautiful thing. When channelled constructively, it can help find solutions that work for the well-being of all. Everybody deserves a better quality of life.” said Gulati.What sets Gulati apart is her belief that meaningful environmental change cannot be driven by governments alone. It requires citizens to participate. By turning sustainability into a community movement, she has helped create a culture where residents see waste as a resource to be managed responsibly. A resource that can build soil, grow food and help improve the health of all.As Gurugram continues to grapple with mounting waste, bad air and other environmental challenges, Gulati’s work offers a powerful reminder that lasting change often starts with small, consistent actions.