This is a solution for people who screwed up their trash icon and it doesn't change from full/empty. I was searching for a fix myself... and even in this forum there are some topics concerning that issue, but I didn't find a real solution, so I had to figure it out. This is how I fix it: 1. create a new user account (its just temporary), or login to an existing account and try sending something to the trash (to test if the icon works there). 2. Now check the option for viewing hidden files and open the trash folder. 3. There should be a ".directory" file. 4. Copy that file to the malfunctioning trash folder. (in RedHat: /home/<username>/Desktop/Trash ) 5. Go back to that session and test.
It worked for me, but remember I'm running RedHat 9 and KDE3. Note: do not empty trash with the "view hidden files" option enabled, you will delete the ".directory" file again!