You may have noticed that you cannot pin the Recycle Bin folder icons to the taskbar directly in Windows 11/10. Today we will share a tip on how to pin the Recycle Bin to the taskbar without modifying any system files.
How to pin Recycle Bin to Taskbar
To pin the Recycle Bin to the Taskbar in Windows 11/10, you need to create a desktop shortcut first and then use the following path in the Location of the item field:
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder
Name the shortcut Recycle Bin and give it a suitable icon via its Properties. Having done that, right-click on it and select Show more options > Pin to taskbar.
You can do it using other ways too!
1] Add Recycle Bin to Quick Launch
The following steps may be carried out to do this:
1. Right-click on the taskbar and select Toolbars > New toolbar.
2. In the New Toolbar window, type the following location in the Folder field:
%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
3. That’s it. You’ll now be able to see the Quick Launch menu.
4. Now drag the Recycle Bin icon in the quick launch bar until Link appears in the pop-up, and then drop it. It will create a shortcut inside the quick launch menu.
In this way, you will have successfully added the Recycle Bin to the taskbar, under Quick launch.
2] Move Recycle Bin to Taskbar
1. Unlock the taskbar. Create a New Folder on the desktop, rename it as Recycle Bin, now drag the Recycle Bin icon over this folder until you see Create link in Recycle Bin inside pop-up, then release it.
Copy the new folder(Recycle Bin) to Documents.
2. Now, right-click on the taskbar and move to Toolbars > New toolbar.
In the New Toolbar window, find the folder created in the previous step from Documents.
3. Now, right-click on the separator (vertical dotted line). In View section, check Large Icons.
Also, remove the checkmark from Show Text then Show Title. Thus you will see the Recycle Bin icon on the taskbar.
4. The Recycle Bin icon added in the previous step is on the right side of the taskbar.
To move it to the left, hold down the left-click on the separator line and drag it left until the pinned icons on the taskbar are inverted.
The previously pinned icons will automatically move to the right, thus leaving the Recycle Bin icon on the left side.
After everything is finished, lock the taskbar.
That’s it! I hope you enjoyed the article.
P.S.: Moving Recycle Bin icon to the left may create extra space between the previously pinned icons and the Recycle Bin icon.
3] Use MinBin Tool
MinBin is a free third-party recycle bin for Windows, which you can access from the system tray or notification area. This comes handy when you don’t want to keep it on your desktop. MinBin lets you open, empty, access the Recycle Bin from your Windows taskbar notification area or system tray.
Simply download and run this freeware portable app, which will sit in the notification area. Right-click on its icon to show the options. To empty the recycle bin, double-click on its icon or select the Empty Recycle Bin option.
You can add it to the startup folder every time Windows starts. MiniBin allows you to choose your icons and offers detailed configuration. If you delete the files empty.ico and full.ico in the folder, you will get a different icon. You can also replace them with your own icons.
MinBin may come in handy when hiding the Recycle bin from your desktop or using a replacement shell that provides a system tray, but no useable recycle bin. Download MinBin from Softpedia.
How to unpin Recycle Bin from Windows 11 Start Menu?
You have to right-click the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop and select Unpin from Start option. That’s all!
How to display Recycle Bin in This PC folder of Windows 11?
To display Recycle Bin in This PC folder, you may edit the Registry manually, download this Registry fix, and double-click on it to add it to your Computer folder or use our freeware Ultimate Windows Tweaker.
Related reads:
- How to Pin Recycle Bin to Quick Access
- How to add Programs to Quick Launch via Context Menu in Windows.
