Bakery equipment supplier Bakers Basco is calling on wholesale markets to help tackle the ongoing issue of missing bread delivery equipment.
New figures revealed that wholesale markets are the single biggest hotspot for losses across the supply chain. The data from the 2025/26 period shows that 18,438 baskets and 1,690 dollies were recovered from locations linked to outdoor events and their supply chains – with a significant 8,700 items traced directly to wholesale markets.
Bakers Basco is a not-for-profit organisation set up by UK bakeries, manages a shared pool of reusable bread baskets and dollies used to transport bread nationwide. These items are designed to last for years and complete hundreds of trips as part of a circular system that reduces waste and avoids single-use packaging.
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However, each year, thousands of these items are diverted from the system, often ending up in markets and wholesale environments where they are misused for storage, display or transportation.
“Markets and wholesale environments are a critical pressure point for us,” said Stacey Brown at Bakers Basco. “We know that once equipment enters these spaces, it can quickly be absorbed into general use. But these baskets and dollies are not designed for that – they’re part of a tightly controlled system that keeps bread moving efficiently across the UK.”
“These are durable, long-life assets that should stay within the system,” Stacey added. “When they’re not returned, or worse, when they’re discarded or sent to landfill, it undermines the sustainability benefits they were built to deliver and forces the production of replacements.”
