A deeply divided Planning Board has approved expansion plans for Empire Recycling. The approval, by a 5-to-2 vote, came at the board’s Dec. 12 meeting after an hour of heated debate. Plans call for the addition of 4,000 square feet at the Sterling Road site. The Planning Board placed nearly a dozen conditions on its approval, including shielding neighbors from any new light fixtures. However, the board refused to embrace a suggestion from Town Manager John C. Curran to limit the facility’s hours of operation and rejected a suggestion from board member David Kinsella that would have required Empire to build a noise barrier. - Brenda J. Buote