Clear items in Sitecore recycle bin based on their deletion date using PowerShell

The script permanently removes items from recycle bin that are deleted before / after a certain date.

#Variable used to state that items deleted in the last 90 days will be preserved

[datetime]$deleted90days = [datetime]::Today.AddDays(-90) 

Write-Host "Reading items recycled after $($archivedDate.ToShortDateString())"
$countskip = 0
$countdelete = 0

foreach($archive in Get-Archive -Name "recyclebin") {
   Write-Host " - Found $($archive.GetEntryCount()) entries"
   $entries = $archive.GetEntries(0, $archive.GetEntryCount())
 
   foreach($entry in $entries) {
     #Loop skips items deleted in the last 90 days
     if($entry.ArchiveLocalDate -ge $deleted90days) { 
       Write-Host "Skipping item: $($entry.OriginalLocation) deleted on $($entry.ArchiveLocalDate)"
       $countskip = $countskip + 1
     } 
     #Loop to permanently delete items deleted earlier than 90 days
     else {
       Write-Host "Permanently deleting $($entry.OriginalLocation) deleted on $($entry.ArchiveLocalDate)"       
       $archive.RemoveEntries($entry.ArchivalId) #Action that permanently deletes the items
       $countdelete = $countdelete + 1
     }
   }
 }

Write-Host "Number of Items deleted: ", $countdelete , " and Number of Items skipped: ", $countskip

The parameter $deleted90days can be used to control the date before which is to be considered.

The script takes a good amount of time to complete, about 5 minutes for every 1000 items.