A google search:

http://www.google.com/search?q=recover+trash+linux&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=or\
g.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Turned up many hits. THis was number one. Not sure if it'll help but it's a
start. :-)

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=296676

In your Home Folder, click on "Places" and "Trash" will appear.

In Lucid (with gnome), Trash does not appear in the Places folder or Places
menu. Also, there is no Trash icon on the desk top. Trash is easily reached via
the GO menu of the file browser, but it would be convenient to have the icon on
the desktop.

How does one install the trash icon on the desktop?

On my 10.04 Ubuntu there is a trash icon in the lower right hand corner.
Looks like
a trash can. I can click on it to see what is there, or right click on
it to empty the can.

You should be able to right click on the desktop and an drop down list will
show. Pick 'add widget'. I think it will be in the list that shows.

You can add Trash to the panel by Right-Clicking on a blank location of the
panel and choosing Add to panel. You can also find Trash in your home folder
at .local/share/Trash using Nautilus, the file manager. You need to have it
set to show hidden folders by pressing Ctrl+H. It is a toggle so you can
turn that off afterwards. You can also addi it to to your desktop by
changing the settings, but I am not using GNOME so can't tell you where.

I used the CTRL + H method and it worked. thatnks for the help

Are you referring to Gmail or some other Linux email server/client?

You are correct, it is there. I just didn't recognize it. Blue icon on a
blue background.