Whether you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 11, finding the items you’ve deleted starts with opening the Recycle Bin folder. That’s because the Recycle Bin in Windows is like a safety net you can use to recover files or folders you’ve previously deleted from your computer or device. So, if you’re wondering “Where is the Recycle Bin in Windows?” or “Where to find the Recycle Bin on a laptop”, I intend to give you answers in this tutorial. I’ll walk you through all the ways to access the Recycle Bin location that I know of, including the quick and easy ones like opening it using its desktop icon, to more complex methods like accessing the Recycle Bin location on your drives. Without further ado, let’s begin:

1. Use the Recycle Bin desktop shortcut included in Windows 10 and Windows 11

By default, the Recycle Bin should be present in the upper-left corner of your desktop. I find this the easiest way to access the Recycle Bin, as all you have to do is find the icon on your desktop. In case you need a refresher on what it looks like, here’s its icon in Windows 10 and Windows 11:

The Recycle Bin icon on the desktop of Windows 10 and Windows 11

Once you find Recycle Bin on your desktop, either select it and press Enter on your keyboard, or double-click or double-tap it to open the folder. Alternatively, you can right-click or press-and-hold on the icon to open a contextual menu. Then, click or tap Open.

Open the Windows 10 or Windows 11 Recycle Bin from the desktop

2. How to add a Recycle Bin icon to your desktop

If the Recycle Bin is missing from your desktop, our guide on restoring desktop icons in Windows 10 and Windows 11 can help get it back. If you don’t have time to read that tutorial too, here’s are the basic steps you need to take:

Regardless of whether you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 11, open the Settings app (Win + I) and head to Personalization > Themes. Then, click or tap the Desktop icon settings link under Related Settings. This is how to find it in Windows 10:

In Windows 10, go to Settings > Personalization > Themes > Desktop icon settings

And this what it looks like in Windows 11:

In Windows 11, open Settings and go to Personalization > Themes > Desktop icon settings

Once you click or tap the Desktop icon settings link, a new window bearing the same name opens. That’s regardless of whether you have Windows 10 or Windows 11. In this window, check the box next to the Recycle Bin, and then press OK. As soon as you do that, the Recycle Bin icon is added to your desktop.

How to show the Recycle Bin icon in Windows

Now that you’ve made Windows show Recycle Bin on your desktop, you’ll always know where it is, right? 🙂

3. How to find Recycle Bin in Windows using search

You can always count on the Search in Windows 10 to find what you’re looking for. Simply type “recycle bin” in the search field, and then click or tap the relevant result.

Search and open Recycle Bin in Windows 10

The same applies to Windows 11: type recycle bin in the search box on the taskbar and click or tap the Recycle Bin result.

Use search to find the Recycle Bin in Windows 11

In both operating systems, the Recycle Bin opens as soon as you click or tap the search result.

4. How to pin the Recycle Bin to the Start Menu

While, by default, the Recycle Bin doesn’t have a Start Menu icon, you can pin it there just like you would any other shortcut in Windows 11 or Windows 10. Right-click or press-and-hold on the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop, and then click or tap on “Pin to Start.”

Pin the Recycle Bin to the Start Menu

If you’re using Windows 10, the Recycle Bin icon is added to the tiles section of the Start Menu.

Add Recycle Bin to the Windows 10 Start Menu

In Windows 11, the Recycle Bin is added to the Pinned section of the Start Menu.

Add Recycle Bin to your Windows 11 Start Menu

TIP: Did you know that OneDrive also has a Recycle Bin? Here’s how to recover deleted files or empty it completely.

5. How to find Recycle Bin in File Explorer

You can also reach the Recycle Bin location using File Explorer. First, open File Explorer and click or tap an empty area in your address bar to edit it. Type “recycle bin” in the address bar, and then hit Enter on your keyboard or click or tap the Recycle Bin result displayed underneath to access the folder. This is what this whole process looks like in Windows 10:

In Windows 10, type Recycle Bin and hit Enter

And here’s the same thing in Windows 11:

In Windows 11, type Recycle Bin in File Explorer's address bar and press Enter

6. How to access Recycle Bin with File Explorer’s caret menu

You can also open Recycle Bin by clicking or tapping the first “>” (greater-than sign) from File Explorer’s address bar, and then by selecting Recycle Bin from the menu displayed. This is how it works out in Windows 10:

Use the caret menu in Windows 10's File Explorer to open Recycle Bin

And here’s how it looks in Windows 11:

Access the Recycle Bin in Windows 11 using File Explorer's caret menu

In either operating system, you get instant access to the Recycle Bin.

7. How to add Recycle Bin to File Explorer

If you use File Explorer often, you might want a faster way to open the Recycle Bin from it. Luckily, you can create a Recycle Bin shortcut in File Explorer’s Quick access, add Recycle Bin to the list of folders, and even set Recycle Bin to show up as a drive in This PC.

Where you can add Recycle Bin to File Explorer

If any of that sounds good, check out this guide: How to add Recycle Bin to File Explorer. If you follow the steps in it, you can get quick and easy access to the Recycle Bin from all the important parts of File Explorer.

8. What’s the Recycle Bin location in File Explorer?

All the files you delete are displayed in the main Recycle Bin folder, but each partition of your hard drive has a Recycle Bin. You can use this folder to access the Recycle Bin, but the process is more complicated.

Regardless of whether you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 11, make sure you see the hidden and system protected files on your computer and use File Explorer to access This PC > C:. There, you’ll find a folder called:

The path to the $Recycle.Bin folder

Open the folder, and you’ll find your Recycle Bin inside.

The Recycle Bin folder location in File Explorer

NOTE: The Recycle Bin is displayed on all the drives of your PC, not only on C:, so the path I used could easily become This PC > D: or some other drive letter.

9. How to access Recycle Bin using the Run window

You can also use the Run window to access the Recycle Bin location. First, use the keyboard shortcut Win + R or another way to open Run. Then, insert the following command:

Use the Run window to access the Recycle Bin in Windows

Finally, press the Enter key, or click or tap the OK button, and the Recycle Bin immediately opens.

10. How to open Recycle Bin with a taskbar shortcut

You can also create a shortcut for the Recycle Bin and pin it to the taskbar in both Windows 10 and Windows 11. The process is a bit complicated, and I explain it in detail in the sixth chapter of this guide on how to pin shortcuts to the Windows taskbar.

Pin Recycle Bin to the taskbar

11. How to open Recycle Bin using CMD or PowerShell

You can also start PowerShell or Command Prompt, or even launch Windows Terminal if you prefer it. In either of these command-line apps, type:

Open Recycle Bin with a command

Press Enter on your keyboard, and the Recycle Bin is opened in File Explorer.

Did you find the Recycle Bin on your Windows computer?

In this tutorial, I’ve shared with you all the methods I know of accessing Recycle Bin in Windows. I hope you’ve found one that you like and works for you. Personally, I prefer using the desktop shortcut to quickly access the Recycle Bin folder, but I also find it handy to open it using File Explorer’s address bar sometimes. How about you? Which method do you like best and which of them helped you find the Recycle Bin on your Windows PC? Let me know in the comments section below, and if you know other ways to locate Recycle Bin, don’t hesitate to include them too.