The first biofilters, developed in the early 80’s, were organically based and would consist of peat, vegetable mulch, bark or wood chips. Although it was certainly a step in the right direction, the disadvantages were endless. The organic biofilters required a large surface area, would compost, would show a loss of buffer capacity and nutrients and the material change-out was rather labor intensive. The most important disadvantage and ultimately the downfall of organic biofilters was its inconsistent performance.