diff --git a/codethesaurus/settings.py b/codethesaurus/settings.py
index 8f51b5356..ee96c59ec 100644
--- a/codethesaurus/settings.py
+++ b/codethesaurus/settings.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 For the full list of settings and their values, see
 https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/3.1/ref/settings/
 """
-
+from ast import literal_eval
 from pathlib import Path
 import os
 import dj_database_url
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@
 ]
 
 # For server error reporting
-ADMINS = os.getenv('ADMINS', '')
+ADMINS = literal_eval(os.getenv('ADMINS', '')) if os.getenv('ADMINS', '') != '' else ''
 EMAIL_HOST = os.getenv('EMAIL_HOST', '')
 EMAIL_HOST_USER = os.getenv('EMAIL_HOST_USER', '')
 EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD = os.getenv('EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD', '')