SAUGUS — Wednesday night was Saugus Action Volunteers for the Environment’s (SAVE) 52nd Annual Meeting and Dinner at Route 1 Grill House.

SAVE is a nonprofit organization that has dedicated its time to promoting a better quality of life in Saugus through environmental concern and action, according to its website.

SAVE Co-President Stephanie Shalkoski kicked things off, introducing some of the members of SAVE who are also involved in the Board of Selectmen and Town Meeting.

“We’re all here because we believe that small actions, when done together, can create some big change. Many of you know that SAVE is now a 52-year-old organization,” Shalkoski said.

She then noted some of the events that SAVE has organized this year, including an annual cleanup at Saugus Middle High School, a composting program for adults at the library and hosting animal programs for kids.

“Beyond the events, we’re always lending our organization’s voice to advocate on behalf of the environment,” she said.

Co-President Ann Devlin then stood up to honor two high schoolers, Isabella Vasi and Zenera Shahu, for the work they’ve done in school for the environment.

“Tonight we are proud and excited to present SAVE’s first Environmental Recognition Award to two girls who just completed their junior year at Saugus Middle High School,” Devlin said. “We chose to recognize both of these girls because they took the initiative their sophomore year to form the first Environmental Club at their school.”

She continued that Vasi and Sahuh are working to create goals to promote environmental awareness both in school and in the community.

The speaker that night was Andrea Lacroix, who is affiliated with Beyond Plastics, which carries the mission of ending plastic pollution everywhere. Lacroix is also involved with raising awareness of plastic pollution, as well as sharing plastic reduction initiatives.

“I don’t know when my passion for the environment started,” Lacroix said. “…One day I was looking at our trash and recycling numbers, and we have a compost program, and I realized that recycling is definitely not the answer.”

This thought came as Lacroix was a part of the Recycling Committee in Ipswich, which would make the switch to the Waste Reduction Committee.

Lacroix went into detail about how plastics are created with thousands of chemicals, stating that it’s unknown what the safety level is for 50% of those chemicals. She also highlighted how most plastic can never be recycled, and that plastic bags, especially, can’t be recycled as they cause problems at recycling plants.

She also mentioned how kids are now being born into a world that has never lived without plastic being everywhere.

“50% of all plastic on the planet today was produced in the last 20-25 years. They’re making it seem like we can’t live without plastic,” she said.

Lacroix commented that people survived years without needing things wrapped in plastic in grocery stores.

She also stressed how much plastic is taking over, stating that it’s to the point where humans are being born with plastic already in their systems.

She concluded her talk by having everyone say “unnecessary single-use plastics” and explaining that plastic production is being ramped up as big companies continue to push for the use of plastic, leading to plastic waste.