Add the Windows Recycle Bin to the taskbar

I wanted to have a clean desktop, but still have access to the recycle bin. I ended up using the toolbar option, here is how I got it working on Windows 10 (It should be similar in Windows 7 and 8):

• Make a directory somewhere on your computer that will contain a shortcut to the recycle bin, I chose “C:\RecycleBin”;
• Create a shortcut to the recycle bin in that new directory;
• Now right-click the taskbar and select “Toolbars > New toolbar…” and find the directory you created;
• Right-click the taskbar and uncheck “Lock the taskbar”;
• Right-click the name of your toolbar and uncheck “Show text” and “Show title” then check “View > Large Icons”;
• Right-click the taskbar and check “Lock the taskbar”;

There you go, the recycle bin is fully functional, you can even drag and drop files to delete them and right-click to empty it.

Now if you want to remove the recycle bin from your desktop:

• Open the start menu and type “desktop icon”, click on the result called “Show or hide common icons on the desktop”;
• Uncheck all the icons that you want to remove and click “Ok”;

If you got any questions or suggestions, leave a comment!

Updated: 2015-12-10