diff --git a/ceilometermiddleware/swift.py b/ceilometermiddleware/swift.py
index a83e8c3..247fa46 100644
--- a/ceilometermiddleware/swift.py
+++ b/ceilometermiddleware/swift.py
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ import logging
 
 from oslo_config import cfg
 import oslo_messaging
+from oslo_utils import strutils
 from pycadf import event as cadf_event
 from pycadf.helper import api
 from pycadf import measurement as cadf_measurement
@@ -142,7 +143,8 @@ class Swift(object):
         # For backward compatibility we default to False and therefore wait for
         #  sending to complete. This causes swift proxy to hang if the
         #  destination is unavailable.
-        self.nonblocking_notify = conf.get('nonblocking_notify', False)
+        self.nonblocking_notify = strutils.bool_from_string(
+            conf.get('nonblocking_notify', False))
 
         # Initialize the sending queue and thread, but only once
         if self.nonblocking_notify and Swift.event_queue is None:
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 95341fa..3b3829c 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 oslo.config>=3.9.0 # Apache-2.0
 oslo.messaging>=5.2.0 # Apache-2.0
+oslo.utils
 pbr>=1.6 # Apache-2.0
 pycadf!=2.0.0,>=1.1.0 # Apache-2.0
 six>=1.9.0 # MIT