Remove Recycle Bin from Desktop in Windows

Updated By - September 14, 2024

Looking to remove recycle bin from desktop? One reason you may want to get rid of the recycle bin icon that is sitting on your Windows desktop is that you have bypassed the recycle bin and currently have your system set to automatically delete files from your computer. Or maybe you just don't want to have any icons on your desktop?

How to Remove Recycle Bin from Desktop

Windows Recycle Bin or Trash Icon

The following is the preferred and recommended method to use to remove the recycle bin icon from your Windows desktop. Assuming this option exists on your particular Windows version - I've tested the process to be working on Microsoft Windows 10 and 11 operating systems. So if your running from the same environment, here's one way to remove the recycle bin:

    1. Right mouse click on your desktop and select Personalize.
    2. From the left pane, select Themes.
    3. Under related settings, select "Desktop icon settings".
    4. In the window that appears, uncheck "Recycle Bin".
      Desktop Icon Settings Recycle Bin
    5. Press OK to save your changes.

Removing Recycle Bin Icon using the registry editor

Recycle Bin removal requires that you modify a registry setting. To do this, you use the Registry Editor. Here's how:

  1. From Windows Search, type "regedit".
  2. Select "Registry Editor".
  3. From the left pane in the Registry Editor, expand the folders as follows:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
    • SOFTWARE
    • Microsoft
    • Windows
    • CurrentVersion
    • explorer
    • Desktop
    • NameSpace
  4. From NameSpace, delete this key which is for the recycle bin:
    {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

Delete recycle bin from desktop

Delete Recycle Bin from Desktop using a registry file

To simplify this process, I am providing a registry file for you to use. The following steps will automatically remove recycle bin from desktop:

  1. Download the delrecyclebin.zip and extract the files to your computer
  2. Double click the delrecycle.reg file and click Yes when prompted to add the information from the file to your registry

    remove recycle bin from desktop
    remove recycle bin from desktop using the registry

Restore Missing Recycle Bin Icon using the registry editor

To show or restore missing recycle bin icon, you basically repeat most of the steps that were used to remove it. Except instead of deleting the related key, we are going to need to create it. Here's how to add the recycle bin icon back to your desktop:

  1. Press Win + R to open the "Run" dialog. Type "regedit" and press Enter.
  2. From the left pane in the Registry Editor, expand the folders as follows:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
    • SOFTWARE
    • Microsoft
    • Windows
    • CurrentVersion
    • explorer
    • Desktop
    • NameSpace
  3. Right click NameSpace, and select New > Key.
  4. Then, rename the new key as follows:
    {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

Add missing Recycle Bin Icon to Desktop using a Registry file

You can also automatically restore your missing recycle bin icon by simply double clicking the enablerecycle.reg file, included in the zip file mentioned above. Select Yes when prompted to add the new information to the registry.