diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/Configuration.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/Configuration.java
index e812021..c93ad77 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/Configuration.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/Configuration.java
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@
   private static final String DELETED_PROJECTS_PARENT = "Deleted-Projects";
   private static final long DEFAULT_ARCHIVE_DURATION_DAYS = 180;
   protected static final long DEFAULT_TRASH_FOLDER_MAX_ALLOWED_TIME_MINUTES = 10;
+  public static final String DEFAULT_TRASH_FOLDER_NAME = "";
 
   private final boolean allowDeletionWithTags;
   private final boolean archiveDeletedRepos;
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@
   private final long deleteArchivedReposAfter;
   private final long deleteTrashFoldersMaxAllowedTime;
   private final String deletedProjectsParent;
+  private final String trashFolderName;
   private final Path archiveFolder;
   private final List<Pattern> protectedProjects;
   private final Optional<ScheduleConfig.Schedule> schedule;
@@ -91,6 +93,11 @@
             .setKeyStartTime("deleteTrashFolderStartTime")
             .setKeyJitter("deleteTrashFolderJitter")
             .buildSchedule();
+    this.trashFolderName = cfg.getString("trashFolderName", DEFAULT_TRASH_FOLDER_NAME);
+  }
+
+  public String getTrashFolderName() {
+    return trashFolderName;
   }
 
   public long getDeleteTrashFoldersMaxAllowedTime() {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/DeleteTrashFolders.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/DeleteTrashFolders.java
index 85ce8f5..550b12f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/DeleteTrashFolders.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/DeleteTrashFolders.java
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@
   private ScheduledFuture<?> threadCompleted;
   private final Optional<ScheduleConfig.Schedule> schedule;
   private final long deleteTrashFoldersMaxAllowedTime;
+  private final String trashFolderName;
 
   @Inject
   public DeleteTrashFolders(
@@ -105,6 +106,7 @@
     repoFolders.add(site.resolve(cfg.getString("gerrit", null, "basePath")));
     repoFolders.addAll(repositoryCfg.getAllBasePaths());
     schedule = pluginCfg.getSchedule();
+    trashFolderName = pluginCfg.getTrashFolderName();
     deleteTrashFoldersMaxAllowedTime = pluginCfg.getDeleteTrashFoldersMaxAllowedTime();
     this.workQueue = workQueue;
     this.pluginName = pluginName;
@@ -146,10 +148,11 @@
   private void evaluateIfTrashWithTimeLimit() {
     Stopwatch stopWatch = Stopwatch.createStarted();
     for (Path folder : repoFolders) {
-      if (exceededMaxAllowedTime(folder, stopWatch)) {
+      Path deletedRepoFolder = folder.resolve(trashFolderName);
+      if (exceededMaxAllowedTime(deletedRepoFolder, stopWatch)) {
         break;
       }
-      evaluateIfTrash(folder, stopWatch);
+      evaluateIfTrash(deletedRepoFolder, stopWatch);
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/RepositoryDelete.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/RepositoryDelete.java
index c59f3fc..9b30188 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/RepositoryDelete.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/RepositoryDelete.java
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.events.ProjectDeletedListener;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.registration.DynamicSet;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.git.GitRepositoryManager;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.deleteproject.Configuration;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.deleteproject.TimeMachine;
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
@@ -47,10 +48,12 @@
 public class RepositoryDelete {
 
   private final GitRepositoryManager repoManager;
+  private final Configuration configuration;
 
   @Inject
-  public RepositoryDelete(GitRepositoryManager repoManager) {
+  public RepositoryDelete(GitRepositoryManager repoManager, Configuration configuration) {
     this.repoManager = repoManager;
+    this.configuration = configuration;
   }
 
   private static final FluentLogger log = FluentLogger.forEnclosingClass();
@@ -94,7 +97,8 @@
       if (archiveDeletedRepos) {
         archiveGitRepository(projectName, repoPath, archivedFolder, deletedListeners);
       } else {
-        deleteGitRepository(projectName, repoPath, deletedListeners);
+        deleteGitRepository(
+            projectName, repoPath, deletedListeners, configuration.getTrashFolderName());
       }
     }
   }
@@ -147,11 +151,15 @@
   }
 
   private static void deleteGitRepository(
-      String projectName, Path repoPath, DynamicSet<ProjectDeletedListener> deletedListeners)
+      String projectName,
+      Path repoPath,
+      DynamicSet<ProjectDeletedListener> deletedListeners,
+      String trashFolderName)
       throws IOException {
     // Delete the repository from disk
     Path basePath = getBasePath(repoPath, projectName);
-    Path trash = renameRepository(repoPath, basePath, projectName, "deleted");
+    Path trash =
+        moveRepositoryForDeletion(repoPath, basePath, projectName, "deleted", trashFolderName);
     try {
       MoreFiles.deleteRecursively(trash, ALLOW_INSECURE);
       recursivelyDeleteEmptyParents(repoPath.toFile().getParentFile(), basePath.toFile());
@@ -174,9 +182,16 @@
     Path newRepo =
         basePath.resolve(
             projectName + "." + FORMAT.format(TimeMachine.now()) + ".%" + option + "%.git");
+    Files.createDirectories(newRepo.getParent());
     return Files.move(directory, newRepo, StandardCopyOption.ATOMIC_MOVE);
   }
 
+  private static Path moveRepositoryForDeletion(
+      Path directory, Path basePath, String projectName, String option, String trashFolderName)
+      throws IOException {
+    return renameRepository(directory, basePath.resolve(trashFolderName), projectName, option);
+  }
+
   /**
    * Recursively delete the specified file and its parent files until we hit the file {@code Until}
    * or the parent file is populated. This is used when we have a tree structure such as a/b/c/d.git
diff --git a/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md b/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md
index cae3bfe..d9b14e8 100644
--- a/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md
+++ b/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md
@@ -124,6 +124,15 @@
 
 	By default 10 minutes.
 
+plugin.@PLUGIN@.trashFolderName
+: Parent folder for all trash folders
+
+  Specifies a common location for all trash folders. When defined, it can
+  massively reduce I/O overhead by not scanning the whole git data folder
+  but rather a much smaller subset.
+
+  By default empty string
+
 Delete Trash Folder Scheduling
 =============
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/DeleteTrashFoldersTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/DeleteTrashFoldersTest.java
index 4f6098e..06300a3 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/DeleteTrashFoldersTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/DeleteTrashFoldersTest.java
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@
     when(repositoryCfg.getAllBasePaths()).thenReturn(ImmutableList.of());
     when(workQueue.getDefaultQueue()).thenReturn(fakeScheduledExecutor);
     when(pluginCfg.getDeleteTrashFoldersMaxAllowedTime()).thenReturn(10L);
+    when(pluginCfg.getTrashFolderName()).thenReturn("some-trash-folder");
     trashFolders =
         new DeleteTrashFolders(
             sitePaths, cfg, repositoryCfg, pluginCfg, workQueue, DELETE_PROJECT_PLUGIN);
@@ -95,7 +96,7 @@
             sitePaths, cfg, repositoryCfg, pluginCfg, workQueue, DELETE_PROJECT_PLUGIN);
     trashFolders.start();
 
-    try (FileRepository repoToDelete = createRepository(REPOSITORY_TO_DELETE)) {
+    try (FileRepository repoToDelete = createRepositoryToDelete(REPOSITORY_TO_DELETE)) {
       // Repository is not deleted at 1/2 time of the initial delay
       fakeScheduledExecutor.advance(
           TimeUnit.MINUTES.toSeconds(INITIAL_DELAY_MIN / 2), TimeUnit.SECONDS);
@@ -107,7 +108,7 @@
       assertThatRepositoryIsDeleted(repoToDelete);
     }
 
-    try (FileRepository repoToDelete = createRepository(REPOSITORY_TO_DELETE)) {
+    try (FileRepository repoToDelete = createRepositoryToDelete(REPOSITORY_TO_DELETE)) {
       // Repository recreated
       assertThatRepositoryExists(repoToDelete);
 
@@ -131,7 +132,7 @@
 
   @Test
   public void testStart() throws Exception {
-    FileRepository repoToDelete = createRepository(REPOSITORY_TO_DELETE);
+    FileRepository repoToDelete = createRepositoryToDelete(REPOSITORY_TO_DELETE);
     FileRepository repoToKeep = createRepository("anotherRepo.git");
     trashFolders.start();
     trashFolders.getWorkerFuture().get();
@@ -170,6 +171,11 @@
     return (FileRepository) repository;
   }
 
+  private FileRepository createRepositoryToDelete(String repoName) throws IOException {
+    return createRepository(
+        basePath.resolve(pluginCfg.getTrashFolderName()).resolve(repoName).toString());
+  }
+
   private void setupTrashFolderCleanupSchedule(String startTime, String interval) {
     cfg.setString("plugin", DELETE_PROJECT_PLUGIN, "deleteTrashFolderStartTime", startTime);
     cfg.setString("plugin", DELETE_PROJECT_PLUGIN, "deleteTrashFolderInterval", interval);
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/RepositoryDeleteTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/RepositoryDeleteTest.java
index 512b8b5..421cd65 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/RepositoryDeleteTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/deleteproject/fs/RepositoryDeleteTest.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.deleteproject.fs;
 
 import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
+import static com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.deleteproject.Configuration.DEFAULT_TRASH_FOLDER_NAME;
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.registration.DynamicSet;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.registration.RegistrationHandle;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.git.GitRepositoryManager;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.deleteproject.Configuration;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.nio.file.FileSystems;
 import java.nio.file.Files;
@@ -51,6 +53,7 @@
 
   @Mock private GitRepositoryManager repoManager;
   @Mock private ProjectDeletedListener projectDeleteListener;
+  @Mock private Configuration configMock;
 
   @Rule public TemporaryFolder tempFolder = new TemporaryFolder();
 
@@ -64,6 +67,7 @@
     deletedListeners = new DynamicSet<>();
     handle = deletedListeners.add("testPlugin", projectDeleteListener);
     basePath = tempFolder.newFolder().toPath().resolve("base");
+    when(configMock.getTrashFolderName()).thenReturn(DEFAULT_TRASH_FOLDER_NAME);
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -72,7 +76,19 @@
     Repository repository = createRepository(repoName);
     Project.NameKey nameKey = Project.nameKey(repoName);
     when(repoManager.openRepository(nameKey)).thenReturn(repository);
-    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager);
+    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager, configMock);
+    repositoryDelete.execute(nameKey);
+    assertThat(repository.getDirectory().exists()).isFalse();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldDeleteRepositoryEvenWithDifferentTrashFolderPath() throws Exception {
+    when(configMock.getTrashFolderName()).thenReturn(".%trash%");
+    String repoName = "testRepo";
+    Repository repository = createRepository(repoName);
+    Project.NameKey nameKey = Project.nameKey(repoName);
+    when(repoManager.openRepository(nameKey)).thenReturn(repository);
+    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager, configMock);
     repositoryDelete.execute(nameKey);
     assertThat(repository.getDirectory().exists()).isFalse();
   }
@@ -83,7 +99,7 @@
     Repository repository = createRepository(repoName);
     Project.NameKey nameKey = Project.nameKey(repoName);
     when(repoManager.openRepository(nameKey)).thenReturn(repository);
-    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager);
+    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager, configMock);
     repositoryDelete.execute(nameKey);
     assertThat(repository.getDirectory().exists()).isFalse();
   }
@@ -98,7 +114,7 @@
 
     Project.NameKey nameKey = Project.nameKey(repoToDeleteName);
     when(repoManager.openRepository(nameKey)).thenReturn(repoToDelete);
-    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager);
+    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager, configMock);
     repositoryDelete.execute(nameKey);
     assertThat(repoToDelete.getDirectory().exists()).isFalse();
     assertThat(repoToKeep.getDirectory().exists()).isTrue();
@@ -110,7 +126,7 @@
     Repository repository = createRepository(repoName);
     Project.NameKey nameKey = Project.nameKey(repoName);
     when(repoManager.openRepository(nameKey)).thenReturn(repository);
-    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager);
+    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager, configMock);
     repositoryDelete.execute(nameKey, true, false, NO_ARCHIVE_PATH, deletedListeners);
     assertThat(repository.getDirectory().exists()).isTrue();
   }
@@ -129,7 +145,7 @@
     Path archiveFolder = basePath.resolve("test_archive");
     Project.NameKey nameKey = Project.nameKey(repoName);
     when(repoManager.openRepository(nameKey)).thenReturn(repository);
-    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager);
+    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager, configMock);
     repositoryDelete.execute(nameKey, false, true, Optional.of(archiveFolder), deletedListeners);
     assertThat(repository.getDirectory().exists()).isFalse();
     String patternToVerify = archiveFolder.resolve(repoName).toString() + "*%archived%.git";
@@ -142,7 +158,7 @@
     Repository repository = createRepository(repoName);
     Project.NameKey nameKey = Project.nameKey(repoName);
     when(repoManager.openRepository(nameKey)).thenReturn(repository);
-    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager);
+    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager, configMock);
     repositoryDelete.execute(nameKey, false, false, NO_ARCHIVE_PATH, deletedListeners);
     Mockito.verify(projectDeleteListener).onProjectDeleted(any());
   }
@@ -153,7 +169,7 @@
     Repository repository = createRepository(repoName);
     Project.NameKey nameKey = Project.nameKey(repoName);
     when(repoManager.openRepository(nameKey)).thenReturn(repository);
-    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager);
+    repositoryDelete = new RepositoryDelete(repoManager, configMock);
     handle.remove();
     repositoryDelete.execute(nameKey, false, false, NO_ARCHIVE_PATH, deletedListeners);
     Mockito.verify(projectDeleteListener, never()).onProjectDeleted(any());