Remove Recycle Bin from the Desktop to Elsewhere in Windows 10

If you’re anything like me, you like to keep your computer desktop clean and uncluttered.  The one icon that persists in this however is the Recycle Bin.  You can remove it, and I’ll show you how, but then how do you access it to empty it?

Pin Recycle Bin to File Explorer

You can drag the Recycle Bin icon down to the Windows Taskbar and on top of the File Explorer icon.  If you do this you will see a Pin to File Explorer pop-up appear, and dropping the Recycle Bin icon will then pin to the File Explorer icon. You can access the Recycle Bin at any time by right-clicking (touching and holding with your finger) on the File Explorer icon to reveal its Jumplist.  Recycle Bin will appear in the list that appears, and you can click it to open the Recycle Bin, empty it, and interact with it as you normally would.

Pin Recycle Bin to the Start Menu

Alternatively, you can pin the Recycle Bin icon to the Windows 10 Start Menu.  Just right-click (touch and hold with your finger) on the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop, and from the context menu that appears click Pin the Start.   The icon will then appear in your Start Menu, pinned as a tile, and you can click it to open the Recycle Bin as normal and interact with it.

Find the Recycle Bin if You’ve Lost It

If you have already removed the Recycle Bin icon from the desktop, and now can’t find it, don’t worry as it’s easy to get to.  Open File Explorer and from the Breadcrumb Bar (also called the address bar) click the small arrow to the left of the current file location… This will display a list of locations the Breadcrumb Bar can easily switch to, and Recycle bin will always appear in the list.

Remove the Recycle Bin from the Desktop

To remove the Recycle Bin icon from the desktop, right-click in any blank space on the desktop, and from the context menu that appears click Personalise.  When Settings appears, click the Themes link that appears in the left panel, and scroll downwards in the main panel until you see a link called Desktop icon settings. Click this link and a dialog will appear in which you can uncheck Recycle Bin.  Click Apply and the Recycle Bin icon will disappear from your desktop. Note that you can use this same method to reinstate the Recycle Bin icon to the desktop should you wish.

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