diff --git a/apps/files_trashbin/lib/trash.php b/apps/files_trashbin/lib/trash.php
index 9b891e773bf2dfd3c25ef12496d0d4894d7bb402..0dad05902270707b9c3f721873e1534547e7f117 100644
--- a/apps/files_trashbin/lib/trash.php
+++ b/apps/files_trashbin/lib/trash.php
@@ -24,8 +24,7 @@ namespace OCA_Trash;
 
 class Trashbin {
 	
-	const DELETEAFTER=30; // how long do we keep files in the trash bin (number of days)
-
+	const DEFAULT_RETENTION_OBLIGATION=180; // how long do we keep files in the trash bin if no other value is defined in the config file (unit: days)
 	/**
 	 * move file to the trash bin
 	 * 
@@ -148,7 +147,9 @@ class Trashbin {
 		$query = \OC_DB::prepare('SELECT location,type,id,timestamp FROM *PREFIX*files_trash WHERE user=?');
 		$result = $query->execute(array($user))->fetchAll();
 		
-		$limit = time() - (self::DELETEAFTER * 86400);
+		$retention_obligation = \OC_Config::getValue('trashbin_retention_obligation', self::DEFAULT_RETENTION_OBLIGATION);
+		
+		$limit = time() - ($retention_obligation * 86400);
 
 		foreach ( $result as $r ) {
 			$timestamp = $r['timestamp'];
diff --git a/config/config.sample.php b/config/config.sample.php
index b1655d028305c1f09672cf0128ac53749a7389ac..373466c08dc917901123ac2ff0e462f9dc0ac5d6 100644
--- a/config/config.sample.php
+++ b/config/config.sample.php
@@ -92,6 +92,9 @@ $CONFIG = array(
 /* Password to use for sendmail mail, depends on mail_smtpauth if this is used */
 "mail_smtppassword" => "",
 
+/* how long should ownCloud keep delteted files in the trash bin, default value:  180 days */
+'trashbin_retention_obligation' => 180,
+
 /* Check 3rdparty apps for malicious code fragments */
 "appcodechecker" => "",