I would consider this overkill, myself...
No, what you describe in this post is not how APT works in Zorin OS.
In Zorin OS, the only software that can carry a lot of bloat, drivers, etc that can be left behind in significant quantity is Flatpak packaging.
Let's take this back a step for clarity to benefit all readers:
In Zorin OS and across Linux Distributions, there is a standardized packaging system. For Debian - Ubuntu based systems, that is the Advanced Packaging Tool: APT.
We use apt to communicate with APT. You might install with sudo apt install software-example and remove with sudo apt remove software-example
If dependencies are needed, these are often installed along with the software.
These are automatically installed packages and are removed with sudo apt autoremove.
The sudo apt remove --purge command will also remove any residual config and cached package files.
On any OS, installation can and will result in leftover files and for good reason. Having the configuration files remain after a removal allows a faster and more efficient user experience.
This is true on Windows OS as much as on Linux, even though there is much less left behind on Linux.
Taking a step forward: We examine Snap and Flatpak packaging, both of which were more recently developed and introduced and seek to emulate how Windows OS does package management.
Snap was introduced by Canonical, the Ubuntu company. Flatpak was introduced by the Gnome Foundation.
Both of these systems carry all dependencies, even the ones you already have, with the package. That software itself is isolated and sandboxed, running in its own container. So it cannot communicate with the essential files on the system. It must bring copies of all dependent files, whether you already have them or not.
With Flatpak, removing the software with flatpak remove does not remove the dependencies and additional bloat it carried along. it only removes that specific software. Anything else that came with it remains in case it is needed for some other software that you install with Flatpak. Flatpak will hold more of these software extras than Snap, in general. Both do it, but Flatpak takes Top Dog in holding onto bloat.
There are advantages to this.
And there are disadvantages to this.
Personally, I avoid Flatpak and snap entirely. I remove snapd and flatpak upon any new installation of Zorin OS. Completely.
My own reasons are:
They have both shown stark security holes. They both carry a lot of unnecessary bloat. Packages are much less stable due to their isolated sandboxed nature, causing many applications to simply not work. They are also less stable because they tend to be rolling, not Long Term Stable packages.
And because both management applications have repeatedly violated what FOSS stands for on more occasions than I find tolerable.
For example, Canonical promised that Snap would not replace apt to the users, then broke this promise and replaced apt with Snap. They reverted this change after user outcry. But trust was already broken.
I moved to Linux to get away from corporations telling us one thing, then sneakily doing another.
On Linux, there is no Registry.
With APT and using apt to communicate with the package management, you should see significantly less retained package files after an uninstall - which is easily remedied with sudo apt clean && sudo apt autoremove. If you prefer a GUI manager, Synaptic will perform that Same Command with one button.
Ubuntu-Cleaner or Bleachbit will also perform that cleaning. So one needs not open the terminal if they prefer GUI.
The terminal is just a powerful utility that users should be well-practiced with and not fear and avoid is all.
