The authority said it had delivered garden waste bins to some areas of the city to encourage people to recycle.
But protesters said the changes - which cost around Â£1.6m - had "ruined" the look of some areas and bins had been delivered to flats without gardens.
Around 30 residents returned their bins to City Hall on Thursday afternoon to protest against the change.
Cardiff council said 74.7% of people in a consultation wanted the new bins, although it would not confirm how many responses it had to the survey.
At a council meeting on Thursday night, members were also told 94,000 black refuse bins would be replaced with smaller ones at a cost of Â£1.4m, in a bid to encourage people to recycle more.
But fines for failing to meet recycling targets could cost the authority more, the meeting heard.
Councillors were told residents could return any unwanted bins to the council, but they would then be responsible for removing their own waste.
Angry residents have returned their new wheelie bins to Cardiff council saying they are a waste of money.