Instead of having the trash icon on one of your panels, you can place it on your Ubuntu desktop for easier access. This is a great help for users whose previous operating system was Windows. It also beats trying to find the little trash icon on on of your panels.
First, let’s add the Gnome Configuration Editor to the Main Menu. You can access it via the terminal window, but I like this way better.
1. Right-click the Main Menu and select Edit Menus.
2. In the left pane, expand Applications and select System Tools.
3. In the right pane, check the checkbox next to Configuration Editor.
4. Click the Close button.
To place the Trash icon on the desktop:
1. Click Applications, mouseover System Tools and select Configuration Editor.
2. In the left pane, expand apps.
3. Scroll down to nautilus and expand it.
4. Select desktop.
5. In the right pane, check the trash_icon_visible checkbox.
6. Close the Configuration Editor.