How to clean out REALLY stuck Trash Can

Deleting Time Machine backups doesn't appear to be straightforward. Have a look at this help resource courtesy of Pondini:

http://pondini.org/TM/12.html

First of all, the shell command you used to try to empty the Trash is incorrect. Had it been slightly more incorrect, you could have deleted all your data. Never use the shell to empty the Trash.

Second, you should not delete Time Machine snapshots yourself. Time Machine does that automatically when necessary.

When deleting snapshots in the Finder fails, the only way to recover is to erase the volume and start over. Do that only if you have at least one other complete backup of all data.

Select the text on the line below by dragging across it. Don't include the blank space at the end of the line. Only the text should be highlighted.

ls -@Oaeln

Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.

Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.

Paste into the Terminal window (command-V), then press the space bar.

Now switch to the Finder and and select one of the items in the Trash. Drag into the Terminal window. More text will be added to what you entered.

Click in the Terminal window to activate it, then press return.

Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear.

Post any lines of output that appear below what you entered — the text, please, not a screenshot.

If any personal information appears in the output, anonymize before posting.

Those are indeed Time Machine backup files. Although the documentation says you can delete backup files in the Finder, it doesn't always work and is not advisable. When it fails, the only way to recover that I know of is to erase the backup volume and start over. Do that only if you have at least one other complete backup.

The Trash is not just a folder like any other. It's an amalgam of the individual Trash folders on all mounted volumes and in your home folder. This point is not understood by the people who give the lousy advice to empty it in the shell. So yes, if you erase the volume, the Trash will be empty.

This point has never been mentioned by you to all of us who give lousy advice when we ask you why our advice is lousy - and this point is still not a legitimate reason to not use the correct shell command under certain circumstances.

This point has never been mentioned by you to all of us who give lousy advice

That's because I'm not interested in trying to teach you anything. I'm only interested in warning people not to take your lousy advice.

Since our lousy advice seems to work time and time again with OPs, you may want to give a reason other than "Never use the shell to empty your trash" in the future. Regards.

Many try, but there is a very knowledgable person in this thread who likes to shove his knowledge in your face, make inflammatory comments, and insult you constantly, rather than simply explaining why "X is better than Y." I am sure he could convince me and many others of "X" really being better if he took a step off his high horse.