How to Add the Recycle Bin to the Windows 11 Taskbar

In Windows 11, the Recycle Bin stubbornly sits on your desktop wallpaper. If you are someone who likes a completely clean, icon-free desktop, or you often maximize your applications and hate minimizing everything just to empty the trash, you might want to move it to the taskbar. Unfortunately, Microsoft does not allow you to simply drag and drop the Recycle Bin onto the taskbar. However, you can use a clever shortcut workaround to force it to pin exactly where you want it.

How to Create a Pinnable Shortcut

Because you cannot pin system icons, we have to trick Windows by creating a standard application shortcut that secretly opens the trash.

1. Right-click on any empty space on your desktop wallpaper.
2. Hover over New and click on Shortcut.
3. A window will appear asking for the location of the item. Copy and paste the following exact text:
   explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder
4. Click Next.
5. Name the shortcut Recycle Bin and click Finish.

You now have a folder shortcut on your desktop, but it currently looks like a standard manila folder instead of a trash can.

Changing the Icon and Pinning

Now, we just need to make it look correct and attach it to the taskbar.

1. Right-click your newly created shortcut and select Properties.
2. Click the Change Icon… button.
3. In the “Look for icons in this file” box, type: %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll and press Enter.
4. Scroll through the icons, select the standard empty Recycle Bin icon, and click OK twice.
5. Finally, right-click the shortcut on your desktop and select Show more options (if on Windows 11).
6. Click Pin to taskbar.

Your Recycle Bin will instantly appear on your taskbar, allowing you to open it with a single click at any time, even when you have multiple browser windows maximized. You can now safely delete the temporary shortcut from your desktop.